The Trigger Games
by OrangeNinjaAttack
Summary: What would happen if Bella was Peeta's district partner, and Peeta fell for her during the games? What would happen if Edward was Katniss' district partner, and Katniss was constantly being saved by a flash of light? Well, I'm here to find out. I have no idea how this will end, and neither will you. Bella Peeta in D3, Katniss Edward in D4. Also swears. R&R, thanks(:
1. Introduction and D3 Reapings

**The Trigger Games- by OrangeNinjaAttack  
Twilight, its characters, etc, belong to Stephanie Meyer and Little, Brown and Company.  
The Hunger Games, its characters, etc, belong to Suzanne Collins and Scholastic Press.**

A/N: What would happen if Bella was Peeta's district partner, and Peeta fell for her during the games? What would happen if Edward was Katniss' district partner, and Katniss was constantly being saved by a flash of light? Well, I'm here to find out. I have no idea how this will end, and neither will you. WARNING: If you are prone to cliff-hanger death, then do not read - I can almost guarantee that each chapter will have a cliffie ;)

Introduction

(D3 Female POV)

I'd never given much thought to how I would die-though I'd had reason enough in the last few months-but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.

He drew a slip from the bowl of names. I knew it was mine. My family had received a notice weeks ago, about our outstanding debt to the Capitol. We were told that if we didn't repay, then one of us would be reaped. I was the only child of age, out of myself and my brother. I was 16. He was already 19.

My friend Tressa Valencio was also at risk of being reaped. I didn't know what I would do if she was reaped. I didn't know what her family would do, either. She had a younger brother and sister. That's why I knew I needed to volunteer.

"Isabella Swan," pronounced the District 3 escort carefully.

(D3 Male POV)

I swear I was about to throw up. The girl I was in love with, had known since kindergarten, was going into the Games. I almost missed the boys' drawing, but then my friend, Trey Valencio, bumped me, because I probably had on my face what he called "the crush thoughts" expression.

"Peeta Mellark," spoke the District 3 escort into the microphone.

I promptly lost my lunch.

(D4 Male POV)

****Today was the day that everyone dreaded. I didn't see the problem with it. I would be excellent in these Hunger Games. If I was reaped, I would probably win! Just walk up to their camp in the middle of the night and change them. Why not? That name was so cliched; Hunger Games. Come on already, we get that you're "starving" us. It was also ridiculous, seeing as I don't need to eat. Or sleep for that matter. If I was reaped, I would probably win! Just walk up to their camp in the middle of the night and change them. Why not?

There's just one problem. This one girl that I really like has been taking tesserae for all 5 years of her entrances for the Games. I fear that this is the year she will be reaped. But if she's ever reaped, I can just volunteer and save her.

(D4 Female POV)

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.

I prop myself up on one elbow. There's enough light in the bedroom to see them. My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother's body, their cheeks pressed together. In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down. Prim's face is as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named. My mother was very beautiful once, too. Or so they tell me.

Sitting at Prim's knees, guarding her, is the world's ugliest cat. Mashed-in nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the color of rotting squash. Prim named him Buttercup, insisting that his muddy yellow coat matched the bright flower. He hates me. Or at least distrusts me. Even though it was years ago, I think he still remembers how I tried to drown him in a bucket when Prim brought him home. Scrawny kitten, belly swollen with worms, crawling with fleas. The last thing I needed was another mouth to feed. But Prim begged so hard, cried even, I had to let him stay. It turned out okay. My mother got rid of the vermin and he's a born mouser. Even catches the occasional rat. Sometimes, when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails. He has stopped hissing at me.

Entrails. No hissing. This is the closest we will ever come to love.

I swing my legs off the bed and slide into my hunting boots. Supple leather that has molded to my feet. I pull on trousers, a shirt, tuck my long dark braid up into a cap, and grab my forage bag. On the table, under a wooden bowl to protect it from hungry rats and cats alike, sits a perfect little goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves. Prim's gift to me on reaping day. I put the cheese carefully in my pocket as I slip part of District 4, nicknamed the Net because we're sort of trapped there, is usually crawling with fishermen and women heading out to the morning shift at this hour. Men and women with hunched shoulders, swollen knuckles, many who have long since stopped trying to scrub the salt out of their broken nails, the lines of their sunken faces. But today the black cinder streets are empty. Shutters on the squat gray houses are closed. The reaping isn't until two. May as well sleep in. If you can.

Our house is almost at the edge of the Net. I only have to pass a few gates to reach the scruffy field called the Meadow. Separating the Meadow from the woods, in fact enclosing all of District 4, is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed-wire loops. In theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods — packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears — that used to threaten our streets. But since we're lucky to get six or seven hours of electricity in the evenings, it's usually safe to touch. Even so, I always take a moment to listen carefully for the hum that means the fence is live. Right now, it's silent as a stone. Concealed by a clump of bushes, I flatten out on my belly and slide under a two-foot stretch that's been loose for years. There are several other weak spots in the fence, but this one is so close to home I almost always enter the woods here.

(D4 Male POV)

I watch her as she slowly jogs to the Meadow, taking her time as most of the District won't be awake yet. I feel jittery, even though it's not actually possible for me, because of the reapings later today. She could get picked. The amount of tesserae is accumulated over the years. If her name is entered once the first year, plus 3 more for food for herself, her sister, and her mother, and then 5 more times the next year... I do some calculations in my head. This year 80 small pieces of paper have her name on them. Her sister has one. By the time she's 18, the number will be 189. The odds are most definitely not in her favor.


	2. CH1

**A/N: As pointed out by anonymous reviewer **_**katniss101**_**, the female POV parts of the first chapter were the beginning of each book (Katniss' was all from the book). And yes, I did do that on purpose! ;) Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.**

**Also, the more reviews posted, the longer the chapter will (most likely) be! So, say I got like 10 reviews for after this chapter, then it'll be at least twice the length of this chapter. I say at least because this one is short. There wasn't much to add before the reaping, and I wanted the reaping to be a separate chapter because it'll be longer.**

**Now, let's get back to where we left off. The D3 readings have just concluded with Peeta puking after both he and his crush (Bella - I think we knew that by now) were reaped, and Katniss is just entering the woods, with Edward following her. Where shall we go? How about back to Katniss and Edward…**

D4 Male POV - Edward

She climbed under the fence, after pausing a moment, like she always does. We only had about an hour before we had to leave to get ready for the reaping. When I say we, I mean her and I, although she never knows I'm here.

I watch her take the bow her father made her, and a few arrows, out of the hollow tree she stashes them in. She slowly jogs to her usual hunting spot, and I have no problems keeping up. On the way I slowly herd a deer towards her, so that if she's reaped this year, at least she can use the deer to trade ahead of time for some food. Then I realize how stupid I am, she'll just have to leave earlier if she shoots the deer now. So I move it back away, and mentally remember where it was.

I find a few rabbits that weren't caught in her snares or were left alone by Katniss because she was hunting other animals. I snatch them up and drain them, then quickly hide them inside of tree hollows so that other animals don't steer clear of me.

She goes to the lake, the one her father showed her, and digs up katniss roots, then goes to fry them up in the little cabin by the lake. I decide to go back for that deer, move it over towards Katniss so that on the way back she sees it; then I leave and go home to get ready for the reaping.

It's my last year in the reaping, technically. It should've been my last year about five decades ago. I've been living in Panem since almost the beginning of the Hunger Games. Every ten or twenty years, I let myself go with the mud from the lake; less baths, and painting it on to look like age lines; then, when I feel like I'm "old" enough, I "die" and live in the woods for a bit. Finally, after the full rotation of generations, I "move in from the Capitol" because I lost my job as a child prodigy _. It's actually worked pretty well. This will be my 6th and final year in the reaping this time through. Surprisingly enough, I haven't been reaped in all 57 years that I've lived here. This year is the 62nd Hunger Games. Thank God it's not a Quarter Quell; last Quell was twice as many people. At least I was "dead" or I would've been reaped for sure. I'm fairly certain that the Capitol knows about me and would've found a way to make sure I was reaped.

I get back to the house and go upstairs to my room to change. I find a nice deep forest green collared shirt that will compliment my skin tone nicely. I can tell Katniss can't wait to trade and get the reaping over with. Oh, I see she found that deer. Good for her. I go downstairs after running a comb through my hair and finding matching pants and shoes. The only reason I have nicer clothing is because I saved them from when I lived in Forks before all of the destruction. Life was so terribly boring there. Nothing ever happened. At least it wasn't lonely there, though. I don't know what happened to the rest of the clan after the apocalypse.

D4 Female POV

I go to trade the deer that was around the cottage at the Hob, and Greasy Sae gives me a complimentary bowl of mystery meat soup to warm me up before the reaping. I go to trade the gallon of strawberries that I got today, too, at the mayor's house. I see Madge there, and she gives me this lovely mockingjay pin, but I really think I'll just give it to Prim, she'll love it.

Finally I get back home, and wash up in the tub of grimy water that was left for me. Prim must have already taken her bath. When I finish, I find a blue dress lying on the bed.

"Are you sure?" I ask my mother. She just nods her head. I get dressed, and my mother braids my hair. She elaborately pins it up on my head.

"Katniss, I hope I'm as pretty as you when I grow up," Prim says, walking in from milking her goat, Lady. She dresses in a baby blue smock, and she looks so sweet and innocent.

I can't believe how stupid the Capitol is. Killing children every year. Odds are, that from one of the twelve districts, at least one of the 24 tributes will be 12 years old. And at least one of the 24 tributes will be 18 years old. I'm pretty sure that a twelve year old has never won.

"Time to go," my mother says.

We walk out the door and make sure it's locked, and a few short minutes later we arrive at the Justice Building.

"I can't do this. No, I can't go. Katniss, don't make me go in there, I can't!" Prims starts to shriek.

"No, don't worry, you'll be alright. Take this pin. It'll protect you, and keep you safe. I promise nothing will happen to you." I hand her the pin and she puts it on, then I give her a reassuring squeeze. "Now let's go get checked in."


	3. CH2 - District 4 Reapings, Train Ride

**A/N: All I have to say is, watch for the #sorrynotsorry moment (lol)!**

"Welcome, welcome, everyone," tittered our way-too-enthusiastic escort, Tristy Periwinkle. "Welcome to the 62nd annual Hunger Games reaping!" (**A/N: Admit it, you read that in Effie's voice ;)** )

I shuffle Prim forward to the 12-year-old section before rushing over to the 16-year-olds quickly as the reaping started. Gale mouths at me, "You okay?" and I nod.

"And may the odds be ever in your favour! Now, before we begin, we have a very special film, brought to you all the way from the Capitol.

Gale mouths, "War, terrible war," and rolls his eyes as the film starts playing.

"I just love that!" Tristy says. "Now it's time to select one brave young man and woman to represent District 4 in the 62nd annual Hunger Games. Ladies first!" She trots over to the reaping bowl (there's no other way to describe how she walks in her heels) and draws a paper.

"Primrose Everdeen,"

No, this isn't real. She's not being reaped. I must've heard her wrong. But there's Prim, walking towards the stage, and every person is in such shock seeing the District sweetheart reaped. I can almost hear the fish flopping in the bay.

I run forward. "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" I say to Tristy's astonishment.

Gale has to come forward and pry Prim off of my back to allow me to walk forward. She's sobbing so hard, she's shaking.

"What's this? Only one volunteer? How unusual. Anywho, what's your name, darling?" she says as I reach the stage.

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen."

"Well I'd bet my makeup kit, that was your sister,"

"No, ma'am, I was just pregnant at four," I say with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. That gets the crowd laughing and unfrozen. Tristy's face is a mix of shock and displeasure. Oops. (**A/N: #sorrynotsorry!**)

"Now..." she says, "On to the men!" She pauses a moment before picking a name, probably just to build suspense to make sure that every boy's eyes are trained on her.

"Ebenezer Scro-"

"I volunteer as tribute!" shouts just about every boy in the Square. But one voice stands out among the rest. It sounds like velvet, cream, and the rest of the good things in life, all combined. It belongs to a 17- or 18-year-old boy who is calmly walking up to the stage. He made his proclamation so loudly, so confidently, that all other volunteers have fallen into a stupor, like before with Prim. At that thought a sob almost escapes my lips before I pull myself together. The boy is almost to the stage. As soon as he's climbed the stairs, Tristy shakily asks, "And your name is?"

He answers in such a lovely voice, "Edward Cullen," and he almost sounds as if he's in pain.

"Well, um, this year's tributes, for the, well, for the 72nd, or is it 62nd, annual Hunger Games!" Tristy says, stuttering every time she looks at Edward. The Capitol will get a good laugh at that later. I choose to get a good laugh at it now.

Edward's POV

I can't believe this is happening. There were thousands of slips in that bowl; the odds of Prim being reaped were slim to none. And of course, Katniss being the wonderful protective person she is, volunteered for her sister. So then naturally I volunteered too. This is spiraling out of control.

When we get on the train (it's not even that fast!), I'm introduced to Seb, the victor from a few years ago who would be our "mentor", and Tristy, who is naturally going crazy trying to impress me. It isn't working. She keeps stuttering over her words, and tripping when she's walking. To top it all off, she covers up the scent of her blood with a cloud of foul perfumes. Her blood is somewhat appealing, but nothing compared to the feast of scents coming from the right...

Ah, that would be Katniss, of course. And on my left is another nice smell, surprisingly Seb. I thought he would smell more like fish and the sea, but it seems more like his sandy brown hair only enhances his caramel-esque scent. It doesn't help that his 6'0" height means that his smell is closer to my nose.

Seb tells us that dinner will be at six, and that the reaping replays are starting now. We go to watch the recaps, with the funny-but-not-funny commentators. I zone out and freeze until I hear Tristy gasp, and assume that District 4 has just come up. Then I realize that it's just the escort from District 3, whom Tristy must find attractive somehow. I might as well pay attention now, as our district is next. Katniss and I can only watch in mock horror, though, so that we don't upset Tristy's feelings; no matter how hard we may make Seb silently laugh, we have to stay on Tristy's good side so that she can help us with the interviews and sponsors.

"Ah, look at Miss Tristy Periwinkle, quite the escort," says Claudius Templesmith. He gasps at Katniss' comment, before laughing, and his mouth hangs open when he sees me. He might not be as straight as he wants everyone to believe. Next he smiled as he heard my name, and I could read that he thought it was an elegant and sophisticated name. They finally moved on to District 5, and I decided to retire to my room.

Katniss' POV

I see Edward leaving and decide that I'd rather not be left on the couch with our bubbly-crazy escort and our murderous mentor. I go to my room, and find that when Prim was saying goodbye, she slipped the pin back into my dress' pocket. I decide that I'll put it on tomorrow, and use it as my district token.

I jump onto my bed, laying down on it. This is all so surreal. Am I really entered into the 62nd annual Hunger Games? I can't believe it. I slap myself, only to find that I have a very red cheek. It's real.


	4. CH3 - On the Train, Breakfast D4

**A/N: Profanity Alert. Also, just a warning, this chapter has some awkward conversations. It's because Edward and Katniss have a deeper relationship than they thought. Thanks for reading; R&R!**

I wake up from the land of thoughts to feel that the sheets are cold. Of course they are. They always are.  
I roll over and realize that I'm most definitely not at home. Where the hell am I?  
Oh; that's right. I volunteered. Why did I do that? What was I thinking?!  
I toss back on my other side only to bolt upright; Katniss' face was right at the edge of my bed.  
"What the-"  
"You were making so much noise in here, I thought you were awake." I'm always awake. "So I thought I would come and talk to you about becoming allies." Her thoughts conveyed what her words wouldn't. Seb had realized she was awake, and had thought I would be too (which of course I was), so he had sent her to talk to me about allying in the arena.  
He's tricky. But at least I get to talk to Katniss. Let's see if she'll admit he sent her.  
"Seb sent you, didn't he," I whisper in an all-too-really pained voice. "You don't actually want to talk to me."  
Her face turned panicked, and she gasped. "No, that's not it at all, I actually thought of it myself, you know, because who wants to spend time with someone who murdered children for a game?" she rushed out. Ah, that makes more sense. Seb seemed more of the brute type; I didn't think he would be planning allies this early before the Games. And she is telling the truth. I'm going to forgive her for something I wasn't even planning on holding against her. I must be really far gone. It's probably like that Imprint thing the wolves used to brag about... I wince, and she notices.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Nothing, just realizing that my family didn't come to see me before we left," I make up on the spot.  
"That's horrible," she whispers.  
In reality it's because of the fact that my entire life is gone, once again impacted me out of the blue. But to ease my conscience, I tell myself that I'm not actually lying. They never did say goodbye. Oh, there's the pain again. I wince for the second time in as many decades.  
"Well, then I'll go get dressed, and we can talk about this later," she says, and moments later she's gone.  
I decide I might as well get ready too, because I'm never getting more sleep - or courage.  
I don't think I can talk to Katniss about anything other than the Games. At least not yet. The things I do in the arena might need some explaining later. Hopefully with all the fancy pills and medicines the Capitol has, I can find someone that has a pill to help gain courage. I have the overwhelming urge to tell her that I'm a vampire.  
I can't exactly do it in the arena, because then the entire nation of Panem will hear. I'll just have to find a time to tell her before then, when it's more private.  
"Time to get up! We have another big, big, big day ahead!" knocks Tristy, who sounds like she's been drinking caffeine for 3 hours. I'm willing to bet that all the escorts are paid to be like that. Anyways, I can tell she wants us to hurry up. So I walk right out the door. After all, I was getting dressed, and now I'm done. Oh, I didn't realize that she was hoping I wouldn't walk out right away. My bad.  
"Hello, Tristy, fine morning isn't it?" I ask, trying to make the conversation easier for her.  
"Well, yes, but it depends, um, on what you consider, well, fine, I think," she finished uncertainly.  
"Good point. Well, I'll be going to the dining car. We should be arriving shortly, correct?" I need to get away from the awkward conversation.  
"Yes, that sounds right, well, I'll just, um, go check the schedule to make sure," she says, and scurries off. Phew.  
I walk to the dining car, and sit down. There's not much I can do here. I recline in one of the chairs and wait for the rest of the group to join me. Barely seven minutes later (I counted), Katniss enters, and takes the chair right next to me, presumably so she doesn't have to sit by Seb. I'll take it; at least she's sitting by me.  
"So," she says, clearly uncomfortable with the silence.  
She's thinking about home, and her family.** (A/N: The basic family is the same, just without Peeta in D4. Otherwise, her father died in a fishing accident, and she's had to support her mother and Prim.)** Thankfully I've interacted with Prim before, when she was trading her goat's cheese in the market.  
"Did your family say goodbye?" I ask softly.  
"Prim came to see me. I had given her a pin to protect her, and she gave it back to me, to use as my district token." she says just as quietly.  
"She's a sweetie," I say with a grin.  
"Yeah, the whole district loves her. I don't know how she managed to get all our neighbors wrapped around her pinky; they're all so rude," she laughs. I can see that she's wondering why she's rambling with me. Time to change the subject.  
"Have you tried the food yet?" Food in the Net was slim, especially after the Capitol started their obesity campaign; President Snow has been trying to cut down on their weight.** (A/N: remember, in THG, I believe that it was mentioned that President Snow was quite old, so it makes sense that he would still be alive.)** Ever since, the fishing rates in our district have been dropping.  
"No, have you?" she asks, eyeing the spread hungrily.  
"Yeah," I lie. "I think you'd like the toast." The second part was honest; I just haven't eaten and digested anything solid in, oh, about two centuries.  
She picks up two pieces of bread as I direct her (toast is only for the Mayor and his family usually) and smears some butter on them with a butter knife. She eats one plain, then picks up a cinnamon shaker and sprinkles some of the brown powder onto her second piece of toast. She breathes in deeply before reading the label on the shaker.  
"Mmm," she says, not realizing it. She takes a huge bite of the cinnamon toast, and starts to laugh, which means she starts choking and spewing cinnamon everywhere. I'm at her side in a nonexistent heartbeat, begging her to stop choking and say something coherent. That makes her laugh even more, which doesn't make sense, and eventually she has to stop and drink some water because her throat is dry. She's going to ask me how I moved so fast.  
"Katniss, I haven't been completely honest with you. Well, but I wasn't lying, because it never really came up, so..." I realize I'm rambling, and stop talking. I'm still kneeling by her chair. "I need to tell you this before we get into the arena. I'm a-"  
"So, is everyone ready for breakfast?" Tristy says, which would be a coincidence, except those don't exist. "Where's Seb? I'm going to lose my job one of these days, because of him!" She scurries off in search of the child-murderer. I'm not sure I should continue my previous attempt at explaining my situation to Katniss.  
"What were you saying before?" she asks quietly.  
I take a really deep breath. Force of habit.  
"Katniss... I'm a vampire," I whisper. "I know you probably won't believe me. But it explains how I move so fast. And why I don't eat. And why my eyes change colors."  
"What are you trying to do here? I don't even know what a vampire is, so how are you planning on exploiting me?" she says in a strained voice. That was a shock. I figured everyone knew what we were- no, what I am.  
"Vampire, an abnormal being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night. That is not what I am. I am a person trapped in a never-aging body, who drinks the blood of animals to stay alive. No blood courses through my veins. No heart beats, and no lungs fill with air. I can't eat because my stomach doesn't do anything, and none of my other organs work either. When one vampire bites a person, and lets the venom sink in instead of sipping it back out, another vampire is created. I drink the blood of animals so I don't starve and die. It's all true, and I've been alive since way before the end of America. And yes, America existed too; but it was destroyed in a series of very unfortunate events. Katniss, I'm a vampire." I sit perfectly still just to prove my point.  
"Are you sure you're not just trying to trick me?"  
"No. I'm absolutely positive. I was alive when Panem was created, even before the Dark Days. I've lived through all the Capitol's ploys, and the Hunger Games is the worst by far; believe me." I say, pleading with her.  
"Alright. I believe you on one condition. You have to demonstrate your abilities to me."****

It has been soooooooooooooo long. And that is my fault. But to ease the virtual pain, here's a 1,500 word chapter. Forgive me?  
Thanks again for reading, R&R to let me know what you thought~!


	5. CH4 - Edward and Bella

I'm running as fast as humanly possible. Faster than humanly possible. Then in an instant, I'm running faster than vampirely possible for any other of them that existed. I was the fastest "undead" and I still am.

And Katniss is on my back.

This reminds me so much of myself and Bella. I internally moan, because I don't know what happened to her. I don't believe that this is happening. Practically the same sequence of events, with girls from totally different time periods and class standings, and with most definitely different personalities. It's highly unlikely, and I'm a little stunned. I almost hit a tree but jump to the side before Katniss can get killed. I stop nearby a tree stump and gesture for her to sit down. She willingly does as tries to regain her balance while also marveling at how far we went. It's hard to block out her awed thoughts, but I'm really trying to protect her privacy.

"How's that for proof?" I mumble.

"Pretty good, actually," she shyly grins.

"Do you believe me now?"

"Almost. That could've been from a pill you took from the Capitol to trick me. I need a real-life, hard-to-do, feat of strength." she says defiantly.

I walk over to a tree and grunt as I lift it out of the ground, roots and all.

"That's impressive too. But how do I know that you didn't take steroids?"

I stifle a chuckle as I leap up a tree in one of her heartbeats, landing silently, and sit there peacefully next to a bird, who hasn't noticed me at all.

I see Katniss out of the corner of my eye silently catch her breath. She's a natural born hunter: knowing to be silent is a gift, nothing you can learn unless you become a vampire.

I slowly and quietly sneak along the branch until I am virtually adjacent to the bird. I grab the bird lightning-fast and throw it into the air as hard as I can (which is about the length of two football fields), and the bird takes flight mid-fall. The poor sparrow won't be coming back to this tree anytime soon.

When I jump down from the tree right in front of Katniss in a few billionths of a second, she takes a surprised step back.

"Are you scared of me now?" I whisper. "Do you see what I see, how scary I am? Because believe me, it's happened before. If I scare you, I'll understand. I can't die unless I'm burned and my ashes are spread. I'll find a way to convincingly die in the arena after I make sure you win. I'll keep you happy while leaving you alone."

She takes a deep breath and slowly shakes her head. "If I say yes, what happens? I want you to live, or exist, or whatever, with me." She's finding herself inexplicably drawn to me, and she's not sure why... "Oh," she gasps out loud. 'He's a vampire. He told me he drinks blood. That means that he's a predator.' she thinks.

"What if I told you that all the corpses get shipped back to the districts for burying, but I don't have any family left, so I'd be free to go? The only problem is that everyone would know it was me in the Games, so I'd probably have to live in hiding or something. Or come back again in about fifteen years. The adults most likely will have forgotten about me then." I rush out quickly.

"So do we have a plan?" I whisper.

She softly nods, but is thinking that I'm most likely going to end up killing her. I'd better explain my vegetarianism to her before she asks to go back to the train.

"Katniss," I start. "I really am a vampire. But instead of drinking the blood of humans, I drink the blood of animals. It's much easier this way. Notice how my eyes are amber and gold most of the time, instead of blood red, like a carnivorous vampire." She doesn't understand the word carnivorous. "Carnivorous means meat-eater, and I'm herbivorous, which means plant-eater. I'm really not a plant eater, but that's what they call-" I choke a little again. "That's what they called vampires that didn't kill humans."

D3 Female POV

Bella

Finally, away from the computer geeks, into the luxury I grew to know when I was with... them. It's been almost exactly 58 years since I saw him last. We joined Panem about five years after what the Capitol calls the Dark Days. It was strange, because the Capitol didn't even realize we were different. There were still hundreds of immigrants, because the Dark Days were only about 20 years after the apocalypse. Everyone was so rushed in, there was no way that they could've tested us. It was more like when the tickets of a concert are finally being sold; everyone rushing for the entrance. It wouldn't have been possible for them to test us, I reassure myself that every day. They don't know about me. They don't know I'm not... normal. They don't know that we knew each other's secrets. I still don't understand how they could tell which district we should go to. The day we got separated... was easily worse than when Edward left the first time. It was definitely worse than anything that had ever happened to me. I'm not even sure if he survived in whatever district he was assigned.

_FLASHBACK_

It's raining. Horrible, ashy, acidic rain is running down our perfect skin. We are dying more every day. We can't find any people to help us. It seems that no one is left, even though we saw people moving west a few weeks ago. We've tried to find them, but it's so hard to run fast when you're running out of energy with every mile. Especially when the animals are almost all dead.

This was the horrible day that we found Panem. There was a fabulous, granite looking entryway to the registration gates. We walked through in a daze, surprised at the splendor that people had built, after being people-less for a few years.

It was in the middle of a prairie, with tall grass that I had never seen before. Probably an evolution to the old species, which had most likely died off. We walked to the end of the line of people and waited for what seemed like a few years, but was most likely about an hour.

"Name, please," a normal looking woman requested at the registration desk.

"I'm Edward Cullen, and this is Bella Swan." Edward pronounced gruffly.

"Are those your full names?"

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen and Isabella Marie Swan," he fixed carefully, glancing at me to make sure I was okay.

"This way; we are going to have you checked for disease and make sure you are physically sound." The woman said, as she gestured to two men in full-out white lab coats, white, crisp shirts, and white ironed pants. The scary part about the men was that they were wearing face masks, and their eyes were like cats... with pupils that were more linear than circular.

The men led us to separate plain white rooms. Before we could enter, Edward kissed me on the cheek (at human speed) and I glanced at him longingly. I felt like this would be the last moment we would share for a very long time. I mouthed 'I love you' right before entering the room, and I saw him smile.

The men didn't follow us into our rooms; there was already a woman waiting for me. I was assuming there was a man in the room with Edward when she first spoke.

"My name is Sophia. From the information I have, your name is Isabella Marie Swan. Where are you from, Isabella?" she asked.

"It depends. Do you mean where was I born, or where was I when the apocalypse struck?"

"Where were you born, Isabella?"

"Forks, Washington," I answered smoothly. "And for the record, I prefer Bella."

"Where were you when the apocalypse struck, Isabella?"

"Forks, Washington, and I said, it's Bella, not Isabella."

"Isabella is your given name so we will call you that." She said calmly. "Now, did your parents survive?"

"No," I growl.

"Do you have a spouse?"

"Yes. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, the man in the other room."

"It is good that you are being honest with me. If you weren't honest, you would've died." she explained honestly. I decided it would be a good idea to not be rude anymore.

"Before you ask another question..." I interject. "What country is this?"

"We call ourselves Panem,"

That must be good, I decide. Panem was Latin for bread. It was used in the phrase "panem et circenses" which literally translate to bread and circuses. Good thing I payed attention in English class so many years ago.

"Now, we are going to decide which district you belong to. Please take this assessment."

_A FEW HOURS LATER_

"Congratulations, Isabella, you are being integrated to District 3, the district of technology," the woman says after she re-enters the room. The test took about 2 hours, and it was like an SAT test except it was all about myself. How old are you? What is your favorite color? Are you trained for survival? Do you have any special skills?

"What about Edward?" I ask, worried already.

"His skills are deemed to fit best in District 4," she says calmly.

"But you know that we're married! You can't do that to us!" I scream at her.

"I'm sorry, Isabella. I did the best I could to keep the two of you together. Sadly my best is not enough, so you will be separated by a number."

"NO!" I scream, and I lunge at her. But before I can rip her throat out, the men that wear all white step forward with syringes, no doubt expecting me to react like that. They try to thrust the syringes into my skin, so I decide that it would be best for Edward and I to let myself sink into "unconsciousness". I let myself freeze, and I lock myself into my mind like when Edward left the first time.

"Best of luck in District 3, Isabella." is all I hear before I'm gone for good.

_END OF FLASHBACK_

**WELCOME BACK, it's really been a while. Sorry about that! I did not mean to leave you hanging like that... but I guess I did... so, I'm sorry. BUT HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER SO NO NEED TO FREAK OUT!**

**I will see you guys in the next update for TG! I'm also working on the next update for SitF ... if you know what I mean...**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	6. CH5 - Peeta and Edward

**WELCOME BACK AGAIN! I've decided to do two chapters in about a week to show how sorry I am... because I seriously need to update more... and because I thought the last chapter was a little short... Well to avoid the growth of the awkwardness, let's just check on Peeta because it's been a while. But first, here's some shameless advertising for my betas... GO CHECK OUT MAGGIEMOO1113 AND SPEEDRREADR BECAUSE THEIR STORIES ARE AWESOME!**

**Alright. I'm going to refocus now. Let's go back in time a bit.**

D3 Male's POV

Peeta

No emotions are coming through. I see myself walking through the crowd, up to the stage. Our district escort asks for volunteers. I shake hands with Bella. We go to our waiting areas for family. Everyone passes in a blur. My parents look worried, but it's not like my mom really cares about me. They're just going to be short a person at the bakery. So I zone out like I used to when my mom started abusing us. After what seems like five minutes, I'm finally taken to the train. The photographers would be annoying if I could bring myself to care. When we get onto the train thirty seconds later, the decor would be astounding if I could get myself to look at anything other than the colourful carpet. I hear the escort say my room is the third on the left, so I head to bed. The bed is nicer than at my house, but I don't really register that. I change into the night clothes the Avoxes had left us, and I just lay in bed. My thoughts start spiraling out of control...

How did this happen... what happened... why did this happen... why me?... I'm going to die... I'll never see my family again... I won't get to spend more time trying to get to know Bella... BELLA... what can I do for her? How can I save her?! Maybe there's another tribute that I can ask to help her. But I'm definitely doomed... I'm going to die! I really don't want to die this young... no children... no family... no wife... no love from anyone... nobody loves me anymore...

D3 Female's POV

Edward

I wonder who the other tributes are. For whatever reason, after this past quarter quell, the Capitol started showing the Reapings the night after the actual Reaping. It really only doesn't affect the Capitol citizens, because they're oblivious, but the district citizens know because they actually went to the reaping. It's the same day that Katniss choked on her cinnamon, and we've just gotten back onto the train. They fixed whatever had broken that allowed us to take a break, and now we're on the move again. Tristy said that "the reapings, well, they're probably going to be on around s-seven... let me go check! Yeah, they're on at, um, seven o'clock..." It's only 3 o'clock. I have nothing to do, so I'm sitting on the couch flipping through the TV channels. Most of it is showing the Capitol citizens getting prepped up for the reapings that apparently are going on tonight. I don't know what I expected to be on, but it's definitely not what I'm searching for. I stop on the channel that's talking about the history and traditions of Panem. Of course, it's all lies. The Capitol feels no need to tell the nation about how the country started. They prefer the "hero" approach, that Panem saved their citizens from everything. Nobody's sure how they decided who went where, but the Capitol citizens are the most "uppity" of the entire nation, so the government obviously chose the richest of the old world to be the richest of the new world. I quickly change the channel as I notice Katniss walking into the room.

"Were you just watching that stupid documentary that they play every year?"

"No, I was just flipping through and it caught my eye because I would know better than anyone that it's complete bullshit."

"I don't know what bullshit is."

"It's the poop of an animal. Sorry, I forgot you don't have bulls here. But shit was considered a swear in America, so I use it alot."

"Oh. It's true. Everyone in the districts know that the Capitol is lying, but the Capitol citizens all celebrate the history the night the reapings are played back, as if they don't know it's fake."

This was getting awkward. What should we talk about... She's thinking about a guy named Gale.

"Who's Gale?" I blurt out before I can censor myself.

"He's, umm, one of my friends back home... How did you know about Gale?!"

I quickly cover up with the last memory of him that's in her head - when Gale peeled Prim off of her during the Reaping. "I saw him helping Prim during the Reaping," I mention softly. I can't have her know that I can read minds. That might be too much for one day.

"Yeah. He's a good guy like that." she says even more quietly. She looks like she's about to break down, and she's thinking that she better change the subject before she does.

"How do you think Prim is doing?" seems like a bad choice of topic. So instead of saying that, I say, "What did you and Gale usually do together?"

She blushes a bit, and says, "We hunted together in the woods at the edge of the district. But nobody's supposed to know that, so don't tell anyone."

"I won't," I promise.

"He's the best." she says, blushing even more. "Gale, I mean. In the woods, we can talk about whatever we want. Nobody can hear us ranting about-"

"Are you two ready for the replays?" Tristy says brightly. But Katniss didn't have to finish her sentence. She and Gale rant about the Capitol, where no one can hear them.

**This one is short too, but I feel like two short-ish chapters over the course of 4 days isn't that bad. I think I'll try my best to update every Monday, and Wednesday if I miss Mondays. Sorry for the shortness, and if I'm killing you with these cliffhangers XD**

**HIYAH**

**ONA**


	7. CH6 - Bella and Peeta

**Hellooooooooooooooooo... Let's go back to Bella! We haven't seen her in a while. We're going to go through the reaping again, through Bella's POV.**

D3 Female POV

Bella

I walk up the stage. We knew this would happen. My adopted family is weeping. I would have volunteered for Tressa or her younger sister anyways, but to myself and my family, getting reaped was a less noble way to end my life. If I had volunteered, it would've been saving another person's life, but this way it's more of a public hanging. I think of the common folk song in D3. _Are you, are you, coming to the tree, where they strung up a man they say murdered three. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._ It repeats itself, stuck on that verse, the entire time my family is in the visiting room. It sings itself to me as we walk to the train. It whispers itself as I meet our mentor for the first time in person. Benjamin Troughlin, a buff redneck type guy. _...a man they say murdered three..._ He grins frighteningly, and says in a western accent, "I reckon you're Bella. You're probably gonna die." Nice to know that he's not withholding any information. The song is repeating itself even louder now. Peeta steps onto the train, in a daze. _...wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me..._ "And you must be Peeta," he says ferociously. Peeta walks right past us into what is presumably his room. _...I told you to run so we'd both be free..._

_...if we met up at midnight at the hanging tree..._

D3 Male POV

Peeta

I wake up and see the sun's golden rays playing across my room, and realize that I'm late for work at the bakery. I rush through getting dressed, making sure my outfit matches or I would get a beating from mom. I brush through my hair with my fingers a few times, and grab my shoes before running out the door. Then I stop.

This is not my house.

I rush back to the window in my room. The scenery is zooming by. I find the bed as I start to collapse. The memories start to rush back. The reaping. The goodbyes. The entrance. The ignorance. The sleep. The blissful, peaceful sleep. If only I could sleep through everything, I think as I lay in my new bed, paralyzed. I think of a song my aunt used to sing to my brothers and I when we ran away from home. _Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow, lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes, and when you awake, the sun will rise. Here it's safe, here it's warm, here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true, here is the place where I love you._ But there's no telling what will be in the arena, so most likely no daisies, and maybe even no grass. I'm not sure what a willow is, but it might be a type of tree. Anyways, it won't matter anymore. Because I'm going to die.

D3 Female POV

Bella

I start to sing the song again as I pass Peeta's door. I'm on the way to breakfast, and even though I won't eat any of it, I might as well make an appearance. _Are you, are you, coming to the tree..._ I hear the food is always the best that the tribute's ever tasted, so I would be a bit curious to see how it compares to the food we had before the apocalypse. _...where they strung up a man they say killed three..._ But I have no chance to taste it because of my vampirism. _...strange things did happen here..._ I keep singing on my way to the kitchen. My voice changed when I did, so singing isn't as embarrassing any more. _...no stranger would it be..._ I hear Peeta behind me, and I turn around to look at him. He seems thoroughly startled. _...if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree..._

D3 Male POV

Peeta

My heart is pounding. I see Bella turn to look at me. She must've been on the way to breakfast. I had heard a beautiful voice singing, and I thought it would be her, but I really couldn't tell. I was still in shock from realizing for the second time that I was going to die, when I heard the song she was singing. The Hanging Tree. About a man telling his lover to flee because he's going to die. If only she was my lover, because I am going to die. That song's almost appropriate for my situation right now. When I follow her to the dining car for breakfast, she's still singing softly. _"If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."_ Her voice is stunning. I can't believe my luck. I could to save the most beautiful girl ever, and she has the best voice, not even comparable to the 'singers' the Capitol produces.

We finally arrive at the dining car, and I see there's an amazing spread of food. Anything a person could ever want to eat and more, there's no way that the Capitol citizens eat this richly every day. Maybe they don't. I never thought about this, but the Capitol probably has poverty, too. It must be horrible to be the worst of the best province. Speaking of provinces, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday morning and my stomach province is starting to riot. I grab a piece of bread and spread some white, creamy product on it. I take a huge bite before grinning in delight. This must be toast, one of the things reasons that the mayor ordered bread special from the bakery sometimes. I realize I'm still standing, so I sit down next to Bella.

"Are you ready for the Reaping playbacks tonight?" I ask. "Because I'm not."

"I will never in a million years be ready to see myself on live television," she quietly remarks.

"I will never in a million years be ready to be go into the arena," I mention.

D3 Female POV

Bella

For whatever reason, I find myself pitying Peeta. So when he says "I will never in a million years be ready to be go into the arena," I realize I can help him live. Maybe we'll be the first in a line of two-victor games... So I find myself saying,

"I will never in a million years watch you die in the arena. I can help you survive,"

And I find myself wanting to explain being a vampire to him.

**A/N: What a dramatic ending! I love it! Sorry if you're going to die from this... Anyways I found myself at a stalemate. I really believe that Katniss and Peeta/Edward and Bella should fall in love in the arena, but I also think that Bella and Peeta/Edward and Katniss should still be a pairing. So thanks to my friend Gia (****_doggyspiker_****), I've come up with a brilliant idea! I'm just going to stop this story at a point where two of the characters are forced to choose which of the others they will be with. Then I'll add two more stories, and each will end a different way. That way both crowds will be happy, and you don't even need to read both stories! Once again thanks to Gia for the awesome idea! And sidenote, my other friend is obsessed with Iron Man. So later there's also (on her request) going to be a character named Tony. ;)**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	8. CH7 - The Reaping Replays

**Time for the Reaping replays! Are you ready?! We're starting with Katniss and Edward again. On your mark, get set...**

D4 Female POV

Katniss

Edward and I decide to turn off the TV and talk about our plan in the arena. I can't believe I might actually die. I hate to say it, but life actually wasn't that bad in the Net. Sure, I provided for my family on my own, but that have me a sense of responsibility which I love. I guess I took my freedom, my hunting, my life even, for granted.

"How would you like to approach things in the arena?"

"Well since we're both hunters, I thought it would be a good idea to split up. The problems with splitting up are that I won't be able to find you, and that we might end up hunting each other." I explain honestly.

"No problem. I can smell blood so it would be no issue at all to find you . And I know the scent of your blood now so I won't end up hunting you." he reasons. He sounds confident and for that I'm glad.

D4 Male POV

Edward

She thinks I'm confident. If only _she_ could read _my_ thoughts.

Just then Tristy walks in, dragging Seb behind her. He looks upset, like they were having an argument. It reminds me of a song that used to be played all the time a few years after I married Bella. I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal.

"We're going to sit politely, drink tea, and talk, until the Reaping replays come on." Tristy says angrily. "We will not leave for any reason other than the restroom, and if we leave for the restroom we only leave for five minutes." Tristy motions for an avox to come over to her, and she asks what types of tea we would like.

Before I can stop myself I say, "Earl Grey, please. Thank you."

Tristy says after a moment, "I'll have unsweetened green iced tea, and Seb will have the same. Katniss, do you have any preference?"

"Pick what you think suits me." she says grumpily.

"Just plain tea for Katniss, please. Katniss did you have a question?"

"Do we go to the bathroom as a group?" Katniss asks sarcastically.

"Katniss, I would advise you to watch your mouth, young lady," Tristy snaps. "Now we will sit down. The avoxes will bring us our tea in a few minutes."

A few minutes pass and we're still waiting for our tea. There's been no talking yet, because only Tristy knows what we're supposed to talk about, and she hasn't said a word since scolding Katniss. I don't want to bring it up because she would be shocked. Katniss is thinking about what she would normally be doing right now. Hunting. Of course; she wouldn't care about the Reaping replays, because she would already know the results of her district. And she doesn't know anyone in a different district so the replays wouldn't matter.

"Tristy, what time will we arrive in the Capitol again?" I ask quietly.

"We aren't going to arrive until after the Reaping replays. Whatever broke down before isn't at 100% yet, so we are severely behind schedule. Now be quiet and wait for your tea." she scolds again, right as a blonde avox walks through the door to our train car with the tea.

The avox hands me my tea and winks. She then walks over and gives Tristy hers. But when Tristy takes a drink, her face almost literally turns red.

'You imbocile!' she's thinking. But what she says is, "Ooh! That's just a tad hot."

The avox blushes like it was an accident, and moves to give Seb and Katniss their respective teas.

"Thank you," Katniss mumbles.

"Now, we have about a half hour until the replays come on. We should talk about training; and not the training you're thinking about, but intervew training. The first day at the Capitol, you will be groomed and dressed for the tribute parade at 6 o'clock. The ten hours before that belong to Seb and I. Starting at 8 o'clock, Katniss you will train with me, and Edward you will train with Seb. Then after four hours we switch. We will have an hour in between for lunch. From five o'clock to six you belong to your stylists. The parade starts at promptly 6. Do any of you have questions about our schedule?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it that we're training with you and Seb for?" I ask as politely as possible.

"You will be training with me for help on your style, as in walking, sitting, talking, and manners. You will be training with Seb to help come up with the angle you'll take at the interviews." And she's thinking 'Katniss will definitely have troubles with both... but Edward on the other hand will master mine in an instant, and Seb will choose to go for the polite and awed angle, no question.'

"Ooh! The replays are starting in about fifteen minutes. Let's turn on the television and watch the commentary." Tristy squeals with excitement. For the next half hour I stare out the window, almost paralyzed. But if I was paralyzed then they would notice so I have to pretend that tapping my fingers is my nervous tic.

Finally the host, Claudius Templesmith, announces, "And here is District One's Reaping!"

D3 Female POV

Bella

We've been waiting for what seems like hours on the train until finally the television says, "And here is District One's Reaping!" The only reason I'm watching this is because my escort forced us to. Peeta still looks miserable. A burly, tall boy is shown walking up to the stairs after a petite yet menacing girl.

"District Two's Reaping!" Same as the last district.

"District Three's Reaping!" I wince as I look horrible even with my vampire beauty.

D4 Male POV

Edward

District One and Two have almost identical tributes.

"District Three's Reaping!" Claudius Templesmith pronounces, and I gasp as I see someone I know.

Bella Swan, the love of my past life.

D3 Female POV

Bella

I'm still pouting over how bad I looked, when I hear "District Four's Reaping!" and for some reason, I'm compelled to look at the screen.

And I am shocked beyond belief.

Edward Cullen is the male tribute from District Three this year. And I could be required to kill him.

**Dun dun duuuuuuuun! Whadaya think?**

**I love you guys so much. It used to be lucky for me to get 10 views a day, but the other day (Sunday April 28th) I got 40+! Thanks so much for your support, even if you just bookmarked the link into your browser. Your views are what keep me writing!**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	9. CH7 WT - Reaping Reactions

**Here's a Wednesday Teaser for you! Thanks for reading, everyone. Love you guys! I think I'll try to do full chapters on Mondays, then "teasers" on Wednesdays if that's okay with you... well too bad because it's okay with me(;**

D3 Female POV

Bella

I am falling even with the floor beneath me. I am spinning even though I'm only moving forward. I am dying even though there is plenty of air. I am breaking even though my skin is a cast. And it's all because of Panem. I now fully understand for the second time, what Peeta was feeling when he was reaped. Utter despair, no hope, no love, no life. I see Peeta moving towards me worriedly, but I can do nothing to reassure him. I feel that I should be thinking, "Luckily I landed on the couch. Maybe I can get a water or something." but all I hear in my head is "Edward. He's alive. Edward. He's alive." over and over again.

D4 Male POV

Edward

Bella is alive. We could be allies. This is wonderful! I feel like some missing piece of me is finally back. When we were split into separate district by Panem, a part of my inanimate heart was slowly and painfully ripped out. But now it's been shoved back in; painful, but it feels amazing to have it back again. Bella is alive. And now, so am I.

D3 Male POV

Peeta

I see Bella collapse and I start to sweat. We've both had mental breakdowns within 24 hours; is this a sign that we're definitely going to lose the games?! I don't understand why she broke down when she saw the guy from District Four. He's not even that handsome... Okay, he's REALLY handsome. But that doesn't mean she should faint!

D4 Female POV

Katniss

Edward looks sick, if that would be possible for him... and I can tell he would be sweating if he could sweat. I don't understand what's going on. That girl from District Three wasn't even that good looking! Okay, maybe she was beautiful. But that doesn't mean he should lose his mind over it.

"Excuse..." his voice comes out rustily. He clears his voice and tries again. "Excuse me Tristy, may I speak with Katniss for a moment?" She nods and he leaves the room, clearly expecting me to follow. So I do. I need an explanation.

"Katniss," he whispers as soon as we're in his room. "You remember I'm a vampire, right? Well, we never die. We can live forever. Remember that?" I slowly nod. "Well, before I came to Panem, I was married to a girl named Bella, specifically Isabella Swan. She was a vampire too, and we lived together and we explored, tried to find any sign of life after the apocalypse. We found Panem after a few years, and it took that long because we were definitely running out of energy. Panem was already a couple years past the Dark Days. We were split up into different districts, and I was never sure if she was in District 3 or 5, because all the sorter said was that we would be separated by one number. And now I know for sure; she's in District 3." he murmurs, and he looks utterly forlorn. "Actually, she's on the train to the Capitol right now, just like us," he corrects.

"That's horrible," I whisper. "Well, we'll just have to carry on. Maybe we can become allies with her, right?"

"We can try. I don't know if she blames me for coming to Panem, or if she hates herself. She's kind of a mystery. Because, you see, well, there's no easy way for me to say this. But I can read people's thoughts." he finishes quietly.

That explains a lot. But wait... he said she's a mystery?

"Yes, she's the only person on the face of the earth that I can't read the mind of. So I never know how she's feeling." he says, clearly distressed that this has bothered him for so long.

"And I... I think I'm falling for you, but I'm still in love with Bella," he whispers.

**So! Just under 700 words, how's that for a teaser? I know you'll probably hate me now, but I want to try something new. It's not long enough to call a chapter, so it's CH8.5. THANK YOU FOR READING!**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	10. CH8 - Bella, Peeta, and slightly Edward

**So. How was your teaser? It's probably suffice to say that you are extremely mad at me. Oh well. I know that when I posted last week's Teaser, maggiemoo1113 was mad at me, too, and she's my beta (she didn't read the Teaser before I posted it). So I understand how you feel, it's happened to me before. Another thing before we go on; I recently read my own story, and at least two things should be mentioned: one, the Capitol only shows each district its own replays the day of the Reaping; they do the Reaping replays the next day with every district. And I forgot the second thing... So I'll let you know later. NOW: enough talking, we need to get back to the story... Time to kill you guys even more, we're going back to Bella and Peeta!**

D3 Female POV

Bella

I don't know what to do. I don't know who I can talk to. I'm not sure if I can trust Peeta yet, but my heart is telling me yes. Even though, of course I don't have a heart that's actually beating anymore. I need him to prove to me that I can trust him.

And then there's the issue of Edward. I really don't know what to do... Try to get to know Peeta, like I had planned (being a vampire really boosted my self confidence), or reunite with Edward in the arena... we could be allies, and I would decide later. That sounds good. I'll think about that later. Right now I have a different problem.

D3 Male POV

Peeta

Bella looks nervous. I wonder why; she's usually the type that knows what she's doing.

"Um, Peeta, I need to talk to you," she whispers rapidly and furiously. She's blushing heavily and I can't guess what's going on. Is there something on my face...?

She walks away, clearly expecting me to follow, so I do. I need to figure out where the butter from my toast stayed on my face.

We escape past our mentors' rooms, where one is in the others, and they seem to be having a furious debate. They haven't really made any appearances except for the Reaping. So much for life advice. Bella takes me to her bedroom and asks me to sit down.

D3 Female POV

Bella

I don't know how I'm supposed to tell him. It's impossible. I don't even think he knows what a vampire is. So I'll have to start with the basics.

"Peeta, you know how the Capitol citizens watches those horror films?" He nods slowly, clearly confused where this is going. "Well, my life is basically a horror film. There are these things called vampires, and they suck the blood of animals and people, and they live forever, and they're beautiful." His face is slowly lowering as his mouth drops open. "And so my life is a horror film, because, well, I am one of them."

"A Capitol citizen, or a vamp-vam-pire?" he says, unsure on how to say the word correctly.

"A vampire," I whisper quietly.

**A/N: At this point, maggiemoo1113 suggests that I totally confuse Peeta by having Bella say she's a Capitol citizen, and then tell Peeta he's stupid because obviously she's a vampire. I didn't go for it. Sorry. Apparently she's going to make a parody of my story just so she can confuse Peeta... Anyways.**

He looks sad. "So I'm guessing that guy you saw during the Reaping replays was your long-lost relative from another era." he sadly mumbles.

"Not exactly... more my husband," I mumble back. Peeta internally gasps and steps backwards.

"So... so instead of potentially facing one vampire in the arena if you don't ally with me, I also have to worry about your vampire husband who might come and attack me at any moment for being allies with you."

"Pretty much," I say dejectedly.

"But I'm not going to let him take you away. I think I love you, Bella. And nothing can stop us from being together," he pronounces strongly.

I really want to say "I feel the same way" except then what about Edward? I am married to him, after all. But there's no denying that Peeta and I have something... much more special. A chance meeting, a coincidence of the fates. Peeta getting Reaped out of the thousands of slips in that bowl, was a fantastic mystery that seemingly connected us, even though me being Reaped was planned by the Capitol. There was no way that the Capitol could rig both tributes from one district... could they? No. They wouldn't do that. It's fate that Peeta and I would meet. So I do say it. "Peeta... I'm pretty sure I feel the same way about us. There's definitely a reason that we met. We are special, for reasons that we don't know yet."

"We are special," he repeats, looking like he might go crazy again. Did I just...?

"Bella, I've known you since we were kids. Middle school, I was a nobody. But I knew you were perfect. I thought I would find a way to be with you. And I did. It's definitely not the best position to be in, but at least I'm finally with the love of my life. There's nothing that can separate us now." he reveals. And I feel glorious when he tells me this. Like it was my only goal in life, to be in love with Peeta Mellark. I have no idea why, but I'm glad that I made him happy. This is weird.

D3 Male POV

Peeta

My dreams are coming true; finally Bella and I are together. Well technically, we aren't together, because she's still married to Edward, but the Capitol can't know that. Because theoretically they wouldn't have known each other. So maybe Edward is out of the picture? No way, he's a vampire so he'd try to get his girl back. I think. I'm not sure what vampires really are, so I just have to take Bella's word for it.

D4 Male POV

Edward

I just got a very weird feeling. I don't know how to describe it, but it feels horrible. I don't understand it. Is something wrong with Bella? How can I help her? Or maybe I'm totally wrong. Did something happen to me? Is it possible that vampirism can wear off? No, because the Volturi were almost as old as the world itself. So it must be something with Bella. Is she hurt? Or is she... moving on? But aren't we married? How could she do this? Is she maybe not interested? Wait. No, I'm jumping to conclusions. I haven't talked to her in over half a century; there's got to be an explanation for this. She wouldn't just move on.

What am I saying? I just confessed my love for another person. How the hell is this fair to Bella? What is wrong with me, I just moved on and now I'm blaming her for doing the same, when I'm not even sure she did the same?

Is Bella Swan over me?

**A/N: Please don't hate me ;) but I need a reason for you to keep reading, don't I? See ya on Wednesday! I'm still not sure what that second thing was so I'll let you know on Wednesday if I remember.**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	11. CH8 WT

**How was your Tuesday? Good, I hope. Hopefully your Wednesday will now be even better! Let's see what Katniss is up to.**

D4 Female POV

Katniss

Did Edward just confess that he loves me? I thought he was married. But if Edward's been living in Panem since the end of the Dark Days, that's been about 60 years. So he hasn't talked to her in forever... Are they falling apart? I can only hope. When Edward is around, I can never let myself think this. But, I think I might be... No, that's silly. There's no way. I am not in love with Edward Cullen.

D4 Male POV

Edward

I'm not sure how Katniss is feeling. It's all a mix. Happy, sad, angry, longing, disbelief... sometimes there's love, too, but then it's quickly gone. She usually focuses on home, which is strange because when we were still in District 4, she was a practical person. Once something seemed like it was gone, it was gone; no getting it back. Is she thinking of home because she thinks we might win? Is she going with our plan?

Ouch. Right now, she's thinking of home, while repeatedly thinking, "I am not in love with Edward Cullen," underneath her thoughts of home. Is she trying to convince herself that she doesn't love me when she does? Or is she being truthful, and is repeating the mantra to keep herself away from me? To help herself remember that I'm a predator? It doesn't matter. I will find a way to change her mind.

D3 Male POV

Peeta

I can't believe it. Of all the rotten luck in the world. I finally get to know my crush since the 6th grade, and find out that she thinks we're special, that we could be together, and then I find out she's married. And that she'll live forever, past when I die. This is horrible. Her guy could kill me in the arena for being in love with her. And if for some reason, we both manage to live, she'd outlive me by thousands of millennia. I imagine all the pain she would be in when I would keep aging and she would be beautiful forever; she would know I was going to die.

This is easily the happiest and saddest moments of my life.

D3 Female POV

Bella

Is it possible that Peeta is happy and sad at the same time? I can understand that. There's a chance that Edward will be very angry that I'm falling for Peeta... unless we can keep that a secret. There's also the miniscule chance that he, too, is finding love in another person. But I really don't see that happening. And I get that Peeta is happy, because I am too. We finally found someone that understands us. I get the feeling that I was meant to have two love stories, thanks to destiny, God, or anything else that might have had a factor.

Unknown POV

This year, I hear the Games are going to be special. And I should know; I'm the one who started the rumor, with good reason. I'm the head Gamemaker. We have a very special twist on the Games this year... Which will be announced to the tributes by their mentors in the few moments they have before the games. If the mentors don't let them know... let's just say the tributes will have a very hard time surviving. The odds would not be in their favour.

**Okay, I'm not British. But I find using that extra "u" in favour and colour, adds a little spice to my writing ;) I just like it, okay?! Hopefully you won't kill me between now and next Monday... see you then!**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	12. CH9 - D4 Arrival in the Capitol

**Hi there! I finally remember what the second thing was. In one of the chapters, I typed "D3 Female - Edward" which was obviously a mistake, I simply forgot to change it; I was going to write in Bella's POV but I didn't. Sorry! That is a bit overdue. So is the chapter... Stupid school science fair got in the way :( Here's Chapter 9!**

D4 Male POV

Edward

"Wake up!" shouted Seb through the door. I groan as if I had just woken up. "Let's get moving, boy! We need to choose your angle!" He moves down the hallway, presumably in front of Katniss' door. I hear a loud pounding and decide that he thinks shouting at ladies isn't polite. I get dressed and head to the dining car to sit and "eat."

A few minutes later Katniss joins me and gets the toast with cinnamon on top again. As she's eating we pull over the crest of a giant hill, and I want to gasp when I see what the hill was hiding. A. Is that what the Capitol is? I quickly remove the thought from my head; it's not a utopia if they send children to kill each other.

When Katniss sees that I'm looking out the window, she turns around to see why. And when she does, her thoughts are swirling in all directions around her head. The Capitol is truly beautiful. And that's from about 20 miles away still. The buildings must be huge.

Just then, Seb walks into the dining car along with Tristy. "We'll be arriving at the Capitol in 7 minutes. Please eat your breakfast quickly." she says.

"Edward already ate," Katniss blurts. I send her an awkward grateful smile.

"We have also received word that although our train is a day late, the schedule we has planned for today will be used tomorrow." Tristy nods, clears her throat, and gives Seb a meaningful look. He looks uncomfortable.

"We've decided that you two are going to work as a team in the arena," he says quietly. I think he's ashamed; it seems - based on his thoughts - that it goes against his beliefs to decide something without talking to the person it involves first.

"We were already planning on allying, weren't we, Katniss?" I say, to hopefully make Seb feel a little better.

Katniss starts to nod when Seb says, "But I meant... a bit more, well... intimately."

Head Gamemaker POV

I'm watching the news at lunch. Apparently the D4 train had a part break, so they're arriving about 5 hours late. This will severely put the Games behind schedule; now the tributes' parade will have to be put off until the next day, and then the Games will start a day late. This is almost a disaster. Luckily at least 2 avoxes per train are regulated to know how to fix any part that breaks on a train. It would be unfair if we cut the training a day short for the Games to proceed on schedule. We'll just say we wanted the Capitol to have an extra day to party. All the other tributes are here and waiting, so they'll just have to wait about... I look at my watch. The train is re-scheduled to arrive in about 4 minutes. I'd better catch a ride to the train station. If I'm not present, there will undoubtedly be some rumors as to why I wasn't there. I finish my sandwich and throw away the wrapper. I grab one of the handrails, and it zips along the tracks to the train station. **(A/N: A little innovation of mine, based off of the transport of the fairies in the Artemis Fowl books. Hope you don't mind :) Thank you, Eoin Colfer!)** I notice the huge crowd, probably drawn by the fact that this train is late. In the citizens' minds, being late is fashionable, therefore making the D4 tributes celebrities. I arrive when the giant countdown clock is at 3:51. Immediately upon my arrival the press is swarming me.

"Sir, what do you have to say about the train breaking down?" "It was an accident, we will make sure that it doesn't happen in the future, and we are lucky that we have trained the avoxes to fix such issues." I reply, and the reporters all frantically check to make sure they wrote that all down. "Is there going to be a delay in the games?" "Yes, there will be a delay of a day, just so that the D4 tributes have the same amount of time to adjust as the other tributes. I hereby announce that the partying will be the best tonight and tomorrow." They frantically write that down, too, eager to announce thayt the party will go on. "We plan to keep everything to schedule, only pushed back one day. The tribute parades will be one day later. Thank you." The reporters take that to mean that their time is up, and they scurry away as fast as they had arrived. I walk over to the station's platform to wait with the crowd for the arrival of the now-famous D4 tributes.

D4 Female POV

Katniss

I can hardly believe Seb just said what I think he did. They want us to be... a couple? More than just allies in the arena? That might have happened without their help, though I'm a little more reluctant now. The entire Capitol, the entire nation of Panem will be watching our love story. I didn't realize that before...

"Now, we are going to arrive in 3 minutes. Please make yourself presentable, and stand by the window so you can wave as we arrive." Tristy says, somehow managing to sound excited and formal at the same time. I obediently wipe my face with my napkin, and go to stand by the window. Edward follows suit, wiping away his "crumbs" before he comes and stands to the right of me.

We stand in silence for a few minutes until Tristy squeals, "We're here!" We zoom through an elegantly-lit tunnel into the most stunning place I've ever been. High, arching ceilings, with huge windows larger than 3 trains stacked on top of each other, and at least as wide as 2. There's a huge crowd of people waiting for us, so I start to wave. That's what Tristy asked, anyways. And it gets a great reaction. The crowd goes wild, cheering and stamping their feet.

"Edward, wave with me!" I say, getting caught up in the moment.

He slowly raises his hand and moves it slightly, and the crowd starts to scream and shout out our names, jumping up and down. They love us.

Head Gamemaker POV

The D4 tributes really are celebrities. They are only the second group of tributes to wave, other than the D3 kids. The boy looks... powerful, I decide. He seems to have the polite air about him, while also knowing that he can survive, and protect who he chooses. He will be a powerful opponent in the arena. The girl, on the other hand, seems to know she's a threat and flaunts it willingly. She knows it's going to be a good thing in the arena. She'll attract more than a few allies; I wouldn't be surprised if she's already allied her district partner. Katniss and Edward, according to the crowds' chant. They look strong together. Oh, there we go: Katniss and Edward, the diamonds.

**Once again, SORRY IT'S SO LATE, science fair got in the way :( See you next Monday!**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	13. CH10 - Bonds

**Monday, Monday, Monday! This one won't be late! We're going back a bit to when the D3 tributes arrived. Just to clarify, they arrive the night before Katniss and Edward, so Katniss and Edward are a day late.**

D3 Male POV

Peeta

We arrive in the Capitol in the middle of the night, and are woken up so that we can go to the Training Center. I get up and grab all my things. The dining car is open so I take a quick snack to go, too. I meet Bella in the hallway, and we walk together to the entrance of the train. There's a crowd of people waiting to see us. I smile and wave, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Bella squint at me.

"What are you doing?" she hisses.

"Winning their favour. They'll like us better if we're nice to them." I explain.

She slowly starts to smile and wave, too. That makes my grin wider; I've got a girl.

Head Gamemaker POV

The D3 train arrives, right on schedule, as soon as the D2 tributes are escorted to the Training Center. The boy looks a bit chubby, but seems muscular. The girl seems to have an eternal beauty about her. I find myself with my mouth open, and I quickly close it. This is not the time to check out the tributes that are much, much younger than me. They smile and wave, and the crowd cheers loudly. "Peeta! Bella! Peeta! Bella!" chants the crowd. I grin and wait for them to leave to the Training Center.

We wait for what seems like 10 minutes until the next train arrives. It's the wrong district. District 5 doesn't come until after D4. I quickly check my comm unit; The train for D4 has been delayed until tomorrow afternoon. We have to handle this quickly.

I go to the transport stick, and it takes me to my office. I walk as quickly as possible inside, say hello to my secretary, and sit down at my desk. Immediately as I sit down, the computer recognizes my presence and starts to talk to me.

"Hello sir. The District 3 train is running late and will not arrive until tomorrow. District 6 is arriving now. The District 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 trains have yet to arrive. They are all on schedule. You have a message from President Coriolanus Snow. Play?" I say play, and the message starts.

"Hello," he starts. Typical greeting; no name. "I trust you've heard that the District 4 train is late. We need to adjust the schedule accordingly. Therefore, we will be moving the Games back a day. You are to handle the press, and make sure that everything stays on the adjusted schedule." He hangs up like usual. Snow is not one for politeness, although it's not a problem for him because he is after all the President. "Training will begin tomorrow. Check calendar?" I tap the screen to go to the calendar, I start to adjust the rest of the schedule accordingly. It only takes a few minutes; the D4 train won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon, so I move everything back a day. That way I won't get killed - today.

D3 Female POV

Bella

I grudgingly agree with Peeta. We need every vote of confidence that we can get. I wave as calmly as possible. There's no way these people will like us, without a little nudge in the right direction. We leave the train and are taken to a building that resembles a hotel. When we get inside to the elevator, there are 14 buttons. 12 have numbers, one says TC, and the last says C. Benjamin joins us before the doors close, and he says, "Each district gets a floor. TC is the Training Center, and C is the Cafeteria. You'll be training with Xavia and I tomorrow." He gestures to our mentor, whose name must be Xavia. Benjamin brutally punches the 4 button and the elevator starts to rise. Peeta looks panicked for a moment until he realises that we're slowing down again.

When we arrive on our floor, I'm amazed at all of the splendor. It's only about an eighth of the size of the train station, which is still huge, but it's amazing that they fit so much beauty into one room. Plush green carpet, high arching windows that view the Capitol, huge bright pink couches, and a starch white table that takes up most of the room. It's colossal. The room is... monstrous, I decide. That they would bring children to a place of beauty just to kill them? That's horrendous. Xavia seems to sense our awe and discomfort, so she says, "I really didn't properly introduce myself. I'm Xavia, your mentor. Tomorrow we'll be training you in presentation and angle. You can go to your rooms now, and we'll call you for dinner later."

Peeta and I leave, each finding our separate rooms. They're adjoined in the middle by a door, and I hear Peeta open his as soon as he sees it. It really is like a hotel, because when he opens his, mine stays closed. We can only talk when both of us want to.

Peeta raps on the door. "Bella, do you want to talk?"

I open it. "Sure, come on in," I say as he smiles and walks through.

We sit down on the couch nervously. "I just want this whole thing to be over with," he whispers. "I want to go home, and live life like there's no such thing as the Games."

"There used to be no such thing," I mention, "and the world was just as brutal. Murders every day, robberies at the banks and bakeries all the time, poverty everywhere. But you could earn money, live free of the government, and be a normal person. Panem ruined all that."

"What I don't understand," he says dejectedly, "is why they want to ruin our lives. We understand that they want control. We get that they hate us for rebeling. But why kill the kids? Do they think there's another rebellion, that we'll grow up to fuel?"

"I have no idea," I sigh, and I clasp his hand. I can hear his intake of breath, but after a few seconds, he relaxes and his pulse becomes normal again. We sit in sadly comfortable silence until they call us for dinner.

**Sorry again for last week's disaster. See you later!**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	14. CH10 WT - Construction

**Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday! This one isn't late either!**

D3 Male POV

Edward

Katniss collapses on the way to the Training Center.

I see it in slow motion; her knees give out, her eyes roll back, she slowly falls to the ground. I'm standing right next to her and I catch her as she falls.

"Katniss," I whisper urgently. "Katniss. You can't show weakness. Get up." I shake her gently. Her pupils slowly come back to the center of her eyes.

"What... what happened?" she says weakly.

"You collapsed. I don't know why." By this time Tristy and Seb are about 10 yards in front of us. Tristy is still blabbering on, not realising that we're not behind them. I don't know if I should call them back to us or not. "Will you be able to walk?" She tries to get up, but her legs start to shake when she puts all her weight onto them. I slide my arm under hers and she is half carried, half walked to the hotel. When we look back at Seb and Tristy, they are just about on the elevator, so I scoop up Katniss and run to them so that they don't realize we were gone. I carefully put her down and try to act normal. She almost falls until she grabs onto my arm.

"You did a little thinking, didn't you? Are you going to be a couple in the arena?" Seb questions.

"We haven't really talked about it, but I think we might." I say slowly, looking at Katniss to make sure it's ok. She barely nods.

Katniss and I walk into the elevator, and Tristy daintily presses the '4' button. "The C means Cafeteria, and the TC means Training Center," she explains to Katniss. She nods again and loosens her left arm to let me know that I can let her stand on her own again. I slowly remove my arm, playing it off as making sure she's okay. But in reality I like it better when we're not apart.

I hear something in my head, and quickly tune into it. "Katniss and Edward, the diamonds. They will be strong together if they ally in the arena." They already have a nickname for us? I like it. Strong as diamonds and inseparable.

"Edward? Are you alright?" I see Tristy snapping her fingers in front of my distracted eyes. We've arrived at our room and she's been telling us something, but for the life of me - or should I say second life - I don't know what it was. I quickly read Katniss' mind before answering.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you, I was just looking around at all the splendor. It really is fabulous."

"It is, isn't it? Now, as I was saying, tomorrow will be a very busy day. They've had to push training back a day for us, so that means the Games themselves are also moved back a day. So the schedule is still normal, but it's just later. Katniss, your room is on the left, and Edward, yours is one door down from hers." This is a dismissal, so I lead Katniss to her room before entering mine. There's a door adjoining the two rooms so we can talk if we'd like. I open mine and see that Katniss already opened hers, too. She's sitting on the couch in her room.

"Knock, knock," I say gently. She nods and I go to sit next to her.

"I'm so scared," she whispers. "I don't want to mess up during training. I don't want to collapse again. And I definitely don't want to die. I just want to go home and see my sister again." She's on the brink of tears. I quickly grab her hand on instinct. She almost pulls away because of the coldness of my skin but eventually finds it oddly comforting. She leans on me and places her head next to my neck, on top of my shoulder. At first she's shivering at all the contact but she starts to get used to it. "No blood means no body heat." I mention. She laughs quickly and quietly. "I love it when you laugh. It makes your worries and stress go away, and makes you look even more beautiful than usual."

"There's not much to laugh about right now," she states simply.

From then on until dinner, I tell as many stupid jokes as I can just so I can see her smile more.

**See you Monday! Also, could you PLEASE review and let me know what you think? Too much fluff, not enough, too out of character, etc.? It would really help me out. Thanks :)**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	15. CH11 - Dreaming

**Happy Memorial Day, everybody (Americans)! I don't have school today! :D**

**Also, thanks for that lovely review, CullenFromPanem! There are a few more people reading the story now so let me re-explain: I will take the story to a point where two of the same gender in the love square will have to choose which person (I do plan on Peeta and Katniss having some charisma in the Training Center) they'll be with. I will leave it off like "I choose..." from both of those POVs and start two NEW stories, each with a different ending. So you don't have to read both, just the one you want, CullenFromPanem :) Thanks again for reviewing!**

**Songs I listened to during this chapter: Love Is Not Enough by Above & Beyond and Reaching Out by Nero**

D3 Female POV

Bella

I wake up from a nightmare the day after we arrive in the Capitol. It's about me having to choose between Peeta and Edward...

FLASHBACK:

We're in a gameshow room watching our favorite program live. There's a huge crowd, and I even see our old clan in the audience. I can't wait to see who the host will choose to be the victim and the "chooser".

Suddenly it starts, with the man walking out into the audience, and right away he selects me.

"You are the chooser, ma'am."

I walk to the platform as he picks the two victims. And suddenly I can hardly breath.

He's chosen Peeta and Edward.

They are moved into two separate chambers, both identical: a tube with a trapdoor that is opened by a lever outside the tube. Underneath the trapdoor is a pit of lava. And I must choose which boy is to be burned alive.

Suddenly everyone starts to scream; they've added a new feature this week. If I don't choose soon enough, I will be the one burned. The timer is at sixty seconds.

"Bella, it kills me to see how happy you are with _." they both reveal in the same moment. Now I really don't know what to do. Edward will kill Peeta if I'm not around, but if either of them die, I don't think I could be happy.

The time has ticked down to 15 seconds. Now ten. Now five. As it hits zero, I fall to my death into a pit of lava, thinking, 'I'm so sorry' over and over until I die.

And I wake up in a cold sweat, thinking about how I really will have to choose at some point... They're both so gentle, sweet, kind. One has baking skills, one has survival skills. One has beach blonde hair, one has chocolate brown hair. How will I ever be able to decide? They're so similar yet so different.

No. This decision is for later. Right now I need to enjoy what's happening now; I've already made that mistake once with Edward. 'Push the worry from your mind.' I think. I take a deep breath and go into the dining area for "breakfast".

Peeta's leaving his room at the same time as I am. "It's only 7 o'clock. Did you have nightmares too?" I nod. "Do you want to talk about yours or mine first?"

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." I say, and I grab his hand and start to walk back to his room. Live in the moment.

He slowly allows himself to follow me. We take up the same position as before dinner and he starts to tell his dream.

"I... I was stuck in a maze. And I could hear you screaming out my name in terror... I was so scared. There was another girl too, and she was just as scared as you and I. I could tell that something was coming for the both of you, so I started to run. I don't know where. But suddenly there was a fork in the path. I could see you and the other girl in two different clearings, and I had to decide who to save. There were these... things behind me, and if I didn't choose soon enough, all three of us would be eaten. So I ran to you, because I didn't know the other girl. And I hugged you when I reached the clearing, and then I woke up to her terrified screams."

"You had to make a choice, too? I-" He hugs me ferociously before I can continue. I can hear him sob into my shoulder. I hug him back. We need to support each other as much as we can.

"So what did you dream?" he requests once he regains composure.

"It was kind of like your dream. I was on a gameshow, and I was a contestant." His face looks so puzzled that I have to stop. "Oh yeah, a gameshow is something that they play on TV. A person is picked to compete, and they have to play a game, or solve a puzzle, or choose something, and if you win, you get a great prize." He nods and I continue. "So I was a contestant, and it was a gameshow where the contestant chooses which person lives and which person dies. I had to choose between you and Edward. There was a lever by each of you that, when I would pull it, would drop one of you into lava, depending on which lever I pulled. But if I didn't choose soon enough, I would get dropped into lava. I couldn't choose, so I got dropped into the lava, and I woke up when I broke the surface."

He shakes his head. "What the hell do these mean? We both have dreams about making choices. Does it mean we'll have to choose something later?"

"I don't know, and I'm going to ignore it for now. We need to focus on what's going to happen in the arena." I try to say calmly. But by the end, tears are streaming down my face. The fact that Edward is in this very building, just one floor away, made itself apparent to me. I miss him so much. But we have to wait until tomorrow to see each other again.

Head Gamemaker POV

"Sir, we're having some technical difficulties with the test subjects." my intern Axel announces. "When one dies, so does the other. We haven't been able to successfully unlink a pair yet." This is bad news. Very bad news.

"We'll need to find a way to fix this as soon as possible, Axel." I growl as I start to walk to the labs. "This won't do. If we don't fix this, Snow will have our heads."

"Yes, sir." Axel says, having to sprint to keep up with me. "What should we try next, though?"

"If you haven't tried electricity yet, use that. Twice the voltage it took to pair them."

"But sir... That much voltage will surely kill them!"

Unbeknownst to everyone else, when they're paired, they are given more strength. "Axel, trust me. They will survive this. And even if they don't, we have more." He quickly nods and dashes the rest of the way to the lab. If this isn't fixed, we'll all be dead by the end of the Games.

D3 Male POV

Peeta

When Bella starts to cry, I can tell we've talked about this too much for one day. I put an arm around her, bring her close, and tell her the first joke I think of.

"What do you call a fish with no eyes?" She just stares at me, so I give her the punch line: "Fsh!" She actually laughs a little at that, so I give her another hug and stand up.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving." I say with a cheeky smile.

She stands up too, and 'playfully' punches me on the shoulder, except she has super strength so it's more like a warmup-in-a-fight punch. I try to resist the urge to grimace and rub it. We walk to the dining room together, and I really want to hold her hand right now.

"Good morning!" chirps Xavia. "Are you ready to start your training? Oh, you should probably eat first." She lets us sit before resuming her light-hearted chatter. "Bella, you'll be starting training with me for four hours, and Peeta with Benjamin. We'll have an hour break for lunch, then switch. Did you like your rooms?"

Peeta nods because his mouth is stuffed with eggs and bacon. "Yes, they were lovely," I answer for us. "The beds were especially comfy and the showers are very... complex." It was true; there were at least 30 buttons, and not one of them made sense to me. Luckily the temperature doesn't matter, it all feels the same to me. I think I pushed one of the buttons that releases a rose scent with the water.

Xavia laughs. "Yes, there certainly are a lot of buttons. I personally prefer button 17, with the jasmine-scented water."

"I tried the apple-scented and it was very refreshing." Peeta adds.

Between giggles, Xavia manages to release, "Quite refreshing, Peeta."


	16. CH11 WT - Training and Mystery

"Good morning," Benjamin says roughly as he walks in. He must've gotten a good night's sleep, because he's a lot less grumpy today. Bella repeats the greeting happily, sensing the same thing.

"In a few minutes, we're going to get started with our training. I believe I went over the schedule last night?" Xavia says for affirmation and then continues. "Bella, you'll be starting with me, and Peeta will be with Benjamin first."

"Where are we training?" I ask, just finishing up my breakfast.

"I'll be in the dining room, and Benjamin will be in the living room."

Xavia finishes her eggs and wipes her hands. "Are you ready to begin?"

D3 Female POV

Bella

Benjamin takes Peeta to the living room, and Xavia motions for the avoxes to bring something out.

"We'll first be practicing table manners for your tribute banquet after you win." she pronounces confidently. "Now, the smallest fork..." She lectures about which utensil is used for which course for seven whole minutes before turning to me. "Are you ready to practice?" The avoxes bring in the appetizer, and although I can't eat any of it, I try cram it down my throat. But for the life of me, I'm just not hungry.

"I'm sorry, this is so delicious, but I just ate breakfast so I can't eat any of the food! I'm stuffed." I admit.

"Oh, well, then we'll just have a pop quiz, and I'll eat it. Which spoon do you use for the pudding?" We continue to answer questions and eat various foods until we've covered every course possible.

"You're quite the fast learner!" Xavia bemuses. "Let's we move on. Next you'll learn how to walk in high heels, proper manners, and all the other required ladylike things of a Victor." She really expects us to win.

For the next three hours, I walk back and forth flawlessly in high heels, talk politely to 'Caesar' - aka Xavia wearing a short-haired wig - and sit correctly in various pieces of clothing. Xavia looks pleased with every aspect of my behaviour, but she keeps giving me a peculiar look.

"Bella, you seem upset." she finally reveals. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"No, that's alright!" I quickly try to cover up. "There's nothing wrong. I just didn't sleep very well, is all." It's true, I haven't slept in a few centuries.

"Okay. If you change your mind and want to talk, just let me know." she says, clearly not convinced.

Soon our time is up, and Peeta and Benjamin join us for lunch.

"How was your training?" Peeta asks after we hug.

"It was all pretty simple stuff. Easy things, like walking in high heels and being polite. How was yours?" I say, speaking the truth. It really WAS pretty easy for me.

"Brutal. I had to take a hundred-question quiz on what kind of person I was, and then Benjamin asked me about even more of the same type of questions. We finally figured out what angle I was going to use in the interviews."

"Well what is it, already?" I ask after a few moments go by.

"It's a secret. It'll make the interviews... more fun." he says with a knowing smirk.

After our hour is complete, I walk into the living room after Benjamin. He has a pencil and paper already on the table waiting for me. I sit down and start the quiz. They're silly questions; _What is your greatest attribute? How old are you? What is your greatest survival skill?_

After I finish, Benjamin scans through my answers pretty quickly. It was easy to guess that the quiz was like those of magazines: If you answered all a's, you're blah blah blah, if you answered all b's, etc.

"Bella," Benjamin says after gruffly clearing his throat. "I think you'd be best off going for the sexy appeal. Wait!" he says, cutting me off before I can protest about his choice. "You don't have to. But, first of all, you have the body for it. Second, some Capitol citizens find smart the new sexy. It's a good idea; Just think about it."

I'm sexy? Since when?

"Alright, I'll think about it. What angle did you give Peeta?" I say suspiciously.

"I just told him to be himself. There's practically a whole 'Peeta angle'. Honestly, he could use any of them, especially the intimidating angle. Have you seen him angry? Boy's got some issues. Anyways he could seriously be rude to the whole Capitol and at least half of the females would still be in love with him. He's attractive."

"Thanks for that tip; I hadn't noticed," I said, my voice dripping with acid.

After Benjamin is done going over Peeta's amazing traits, he finally lets me leave and we go into the dining room again.

"Oh, dear," is the first thing anyone says to me when I walk in. It's Xavia and she looks extremely worried. "There's been a delay. The District 4 train broke down and they are severely behind schedule. They aren't going to arrive until late tonight. The tribute parade, training days, and the Games themselves are going to be pushed back a day." Great, more time to think about how I can die. "I guess that leaves room for more training tomorrow!"

"Nooooooooooooooo..." Peeta comically moans as he falls into a chair. "Today was brutal enough! Can't we just relax for once?"

"You can relax, or you can win." Xavia says fiercely.

**AHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE YOU GUYS! I have 200+ visitors overall this month (May 2012) and that's never happened before! Thanks for all the support. You're the reason I keep writing! You guys are legendary. THANKS! See you Monday!**


	17. CH12 - Planning

**Sorry this is late. I had a lot of homework the last week of school. Whose idea was that, anyways?! Hey, good news though! Summer is almost here for my school, so starting next week, hopefully the chapters will be MUCH longer... The key word here is hopefully. Also thanks to the three loyal Canadians who have read a total of 18 chapters! I didn't know I appealed to the maple syrup lovers ;) Anyways, for the next chapter, I think D3 and D4 are meeting up in the cafeteria for the reunion of Bella and Peeta! I don't want to spoil anything, and it's not completely planned in my head, but it'll be a bit dramatic...**

D3 Male POV

Peeta

If Xavia's right, Bella's husband is arriving today. I suddenly feel nervous for tomorrow, when the Capitol's official training begins. Will Edward hate me? Will he resent me for falling in love with Bella? How will Bella react to seeing him again? I feel like I'm going to puke, for the second time in as many days. Why did I have to get reaped, anyways?

D3 Female POV

Bella

If it were possible, butterflies would be the only thing in my body. I am nervous as shit. Edward's arriving tomorrow, and I can't wait. But I'm scared. What if he's found someone else, too? Will things be awkward between us? I can only hope not.

I hear Peeta knock on my door. It's about 7:30, after dinner. We were sent to our rooms, so I just sat on the couch watching the boring TV channels. I open the door, and he comes in.

"So, what's on TV tonight? More parties, or the "glorious" history of the Capitol?" he says, making quotation marks with his fingers. "Ah, I see you've found the baking channel." He smiles and sits down on the couch. I sit next to him.

He's totally relaxed, indulging in what the chefs on TV are doing. "I worked in a bakery, you know," he admits. "I loved every second of it. The frosting, the cookies, the cakes; every part was beautiful."

"I know," I whisper. "The cakes were always amazing once or twice a week. I'm guessing you and your brothers rotated through who frosted them. I loved the ones with orange. Is that your favorite color?" I ramble off at the end.

He nods, pleased. "I didn't know you went to the bakery!"

"Not really, I just window shopped," I admit. I would be blushing. The family I lived with did not have very much money for anything. If I somehow manage to win the Games, hopefully I can change that.

"I guess I should have polished the windows more often," he jokes. I finally relax and cuddle up to Peeta. He freezes for a moment before adjusting to my temperature and calming. I can't fall asleep, but if I could I would. I'm so comfortable right now. I'm guessing Peeta isn't, though, because he looks really tired but isn't asleep yet.

After about an hour, I finally speak up. "Do you want me to go get a blanket?" He nods and I dash away only to return with the thick comforter from my bed moments later.

"Thanks," he says, snuggling in. After a few minutes, he falls asleep. I'm wrapped in the comforter so that he's comfy and cozy. I keep the cooking channel on the TV.

At around 2 AM, he starts to sing. I jump and wonder what was happening.

I check to make sure he's still sleeping. He is. But his mouth, every once in awhile, emits a noise. He sleep-sings, then. For the most part the lips are just moving, but every few seconds I can catch a word. It sounds something like this:

"The... bullet... faith...

Then... wide awake...

Bliss... apology's...

Was... enemy... escape...

Hands... tied...

But... mine...

Grab... desire... away..."

And then he's done again. I wish he wasn't. His voice is really beautiful. I make a mental note to ask what his favorite song is once he wakes up.

I doze off into the land of thought, thinking about what will happen when I see Edward again.

When Peeta starts to shift around at around 8, I slowly move away and go change my clothes in the bathroom. When I come back to the living room, Peeta is intently watching the cooking channel, mimicking what the chefs are doing. Right now they're stirring a bowl of cake mix, so he's rotating his right arm over his left.

"Good morning," I say. He glances up at me for a moment, nods, then looks back at the TV.

"They're making a red velvet cake. My favorite kind." he says, enthralled.

"Speaking of favorites... what's your favorite song?" I pop out.

"It's called Years, and my dad used to sing it to me." he blushes. "We didn't have any instruments so we just used our voices. He sang it when my mom got especially angry. Why?"

"Last night you were singing in your sleep," I explain. "You have a beautiful voice."

He nods, accepting the compliment as truth. "Do you want me to sing it to you?"

I smile as he starts to weave the beautiful melody again. This time the song is complete.

"The sun hits like a bullet of faith

And then suddenly I'm wide awake

Fake bliss, our apology's made

Was an enemy with no escape

My hands were tied,

But now they're mine

So grab on to desire and run away"

He grins as he starts the second verse. I wonder if there's a chorus to this at all.

"Grey dust now sparkle in gold

And the best is yet to unfold

Why heat found in comfort and cold

And the heart is found in her soul

Her hands were tied

But now they're mine

To grab on and wherever you'll go I'll go

These will be the years, these will be the years

The lights will all appear, these will be the years."

I start to applaud as he hums a few notes at the end. It's really a beautiful song.

"I love it," I admit. "Can you teach it to me?"

The next few hours are spent learning how to sing the song Years. By the time Xavia calls us to lunch (we missed breakfast!) I know the song by heart.

"These will be the years," I hum as we walk to the dining room.

"Good afternoon," Xavia greets. "Why did you miss breakfast?"

"Oh! Because, umm..." Peeta looks at me for support.

"We were discussing our strategy in the arena! We can't decide." I blab. "I want to get supplies from the Cornucopia but Peeta wants to run and find water first."

Benjamin nods. "Both good strategies. However, if you want an edge over the competition, I would run to the Cornucopia, grab a bag, and then go find water."

"Aha!" I triumphantly yell. "That's perfect, Benjamin! Thanks." I grin with Peeta.

"Alright, let's eat," Xavia says.

**It's also really short because I didn't have time to finish :( I will make sure the next one is much longer! I'm very sorry about that...**

**HIYA!**

**ONA**


	18. Quick Update

Hi, long time no see.

I've been running out of ideas recently, so I took a break. Sorry for leaving you with no warning. I've got a pretty big chapter coming up, though, so hopefully you won't be mad. I just need a little bit more in it and I'll upload.

Also, there's no way I can keep an update schedule anymore. Sorry again. I'd say at the max, about an update a week.

I get it if you're disappointed... hopefully you'll give me a second chance. My summer just (sadly) happens to be more than just sitting at the computer.

Hope to have you read the next chapter soon!

HIYAH!

ONA


	19. CH13 - Reconciliation

**Okay guys. I royally screwed up. I forgot about the Tribute Parade! So instead of hearing about the first day of training right now (that'll be later), we'll hear about Edward and Katniss' training, and then the parade. One more thing. The chapters WILL be longer, but the updates will be reduced to once a week at the max. I also took a while off to gather my thoughts and get ready for all the writing to come. Sorry about that leave of absence. Also, to the bitch that reviewed and told me that Edward can't volunteer to save Katniss because he's not female, he volunteered to keep her safe during the Games. Thanks for the support, bro. I hope you believe in me as much as I don't appreciate your review. Anyways, on a happier note, each one of these chapters has over 10 ten views this month! Thanks to the REAL supporters of this story.**

Training is a nightmare. I don't understand how the Capitol people walk in heels! I spend a few hours learning how to be a lady. It's not like I'll need this for more than 5 minutes. That's longer than the interview actually is! Tristy taunts me about my "absolutely atrocious" talking, and apparently I don't know how to sit correctly.

"Katniss, if you're going to be wearing a dress-"

"I have to wear a dress?!"

"Yes. This is a formal event, and you have a chance to look nice for once." she says. "And if you're going to be wearing a dress, then you need to know how to sit properly so that you and the rest of your district don't look foolish!"

"Fine. What is it that I'm doing wrong?"

"When you're sitting, you should keep your legs together. Otherwise it's inappropriate." she grumbles. I try to sit properly again. "That's much better."

After another hour of civilized torture, we finally have a lunch break for an hour. I meet up with Edward and we have sandwiches together.

"How was your training?" I ask. He probably already knows how mine was.

"It wasn't that bad. I had to take a test to see what angle I would be. It only took me a few minutes because I could speed read it, but it would probably take you about an hour."

"Oh. That sounds fun." I say. I try to enjoy my lunch but it's not the same anymore. The hour is soon up, so I follow Seb to the other room.

"Alright, kid, here you go. Take this quiz real quick for me." Seb says, and he hands me a stack of papers and a pencil. I sit down at the desk and concentrate on the first question.

How old are you? 16. What is your gender? Female. What are your greatest skills? Circle three. Speed, strength, and knowledge.

The test goes on like this for the next hour and a half, and I barely answer the last question when Seb walks up to me.

"What's taking you so long?" he says grouchily. "Oh, you're done." He flips the stack back to page one, and starts to read through the answers. I sit, waiting, for what seems like five minutes. I'm used to this kind of boredom; it's pretty common when I'm hunting and the game is shy. I usually have to wait up in a tree for them to show their faces.

"Alright, Katniss. I think you'd be best off just being yourself." he says slowly, like he's not sure he believes what he's saying.

"Be myself? How am I supposed to do that in front of a crowd of the entire nation?" I cynically ask.

"I honestly don't know," he finally says.

D3 Female POV

Bella Swan

"So now what do we do?" I ask after the plates from lunch are cleared away.

"The tribute parades are tonight at 6. The two hours before that, belong to your stylists." Xavia explains. She looks at her watch. "Right now it's 11:52, which means we have four hours to work with. I'd like two of the hours so that I could finish up some training. Benjamin, you can have the second two hours if you want." He nods. "Alright, then, let's get moving! I expect to see both of you in the living room at noon." She gets up, and walks out of the dining room. Benjamin follows.

"Great, so we have 8 minutes to kill. What should we do?" Peeta asks, looking nervous.

"Want to go to the living room early?" I ask. He nods and we both stand and walk to living room. It's not any less awkward.

"Sooo..." Peeta says. I look around and see there's a TV. I reach for the remote that's in front of Peeta.

And in an instant, he leans forward, too, and before I realize what he's doing, he pecks me on the cheek. When I turn to look at him, he's sitting in the exact same position as before, but with a bright red face.

"What TV channel do you want to watch?" he asks uncomfortably.

Just then, Xavia walks in, saving us from a very awkward conversation. "Alrighty, then, we're going to talk more about your arena strategy. Are you planning to team up, or stay separated?"

"We're teaming up," we say at the same time. We look at each other and he blushes.

"Well, it seems like it!" Xavia giggles. "What Benjamin said before was right. Who is the faster runner of you two?" Peeta points at me. "Okay then, Bella, you'll run to the Cornucopia while Peeta finds a safe spot for you two. I suggest using a certain note or set of notes to call to each other so that you don't get lost." We nod. "Alright, Peeta, what's your weapon of choice?"

"A sword or mace. I'd also feel a lot more safe if we got a backpack or something with a bunch of supplies."

Tristy nods, then continues. "Okay, then Bella, what do you like to use?"

"I probably won't need anything, but I like to use knives." I say nonchalantly.

"So when you make the run to the Cornucopia, remember to grab a sword, knives, and possibly a bag. If you can't get any one of those, get anything you can. I think that's all I needed to go over. If you have questions, now is the time to ask them."

"Do you know anything about what the Games will be like this year?" Peeta asks immediately.

"That is classified until the day of the Games." she replies formally. That's not like her.

"So there is something weird about this year," he muses. "Bella, do you have any idea what it could be?"

"No clue," I shake my head.

Head Gamemaker POV

We've finally reached the end. Just this one last equation of chemistry, and the unpairing would work flawlessly. All I have to do is put a certain amount of atoms into the main centrifuge, turn it on to 30000 rpm, and the Games will be 100% ready to go when they start in about 4 days. Let's see, the parade is tonight, and then they have training for three days. Yeah, 4 days. Now back to the equation... 17x + 3 = 37. This should be easy, but I've been running on no sleep for over 48 hours.

"Axel," I call, but my voice is rusty. I clear it and call for my intern again. "Axel, come here. I need you to solve this equation for me."

He runs over and solves it easily. "The answer is 2, sir; x = 2."

I nod. "Very good, Axel. Would you please get me a triple macchiato with extra caramel? I'm parched and exhausted." He gives a quick thumbs up and runs off. I really wish the interns we got were more mature than that. I go back to my work. Two atoms into the main centrifuge. I can do this.

After the atoms are moved and Axel returns with my coffee, I flip the switch.

It works.

"Congratulations, sir!" Axel cheers.

"Shush, Axel, keep it down. The others think that we successfully unpaired weeks ago. They don't realize that this is the first surviving group." That shuts him up. "Alright. So now what else do I have to do?" I ask myself, before remembering that this was the last thing on my to-do list. I start to leave the room. "Axel, if anyone asks, I've gone to my apartment to take a nap before the parades tonight. See you later."

Caesar Flickerman's POV

By now, the tributes are about halfway through getting ready for the parade. The first couple Districts will head down to the entrance to prepare for the chariot ride. Districts 1 and 2 are usually the first two ready. I would love to be down there, easing the children's minds, helping them get over their nerves, except of course I can't talk to any of them until the night before the Games. Each year I make 24 new friends, and only one of them lives. The Victors never even keep in touch with me. But I don't mind; most of them went insane during or after their Games.

"Hey, Caesar! You ready for tonight?" Claudius Templesmith, my friend and co-host, asks as he walks into the room. I'm in a secret platform above where the chariots are located because I like to watch the tributes get ready.

"Never," I answer, "yet always ready. It's funny how that works." I remark

"Funny, indeed," he says slowly. "Have you heard yet about what's happening this year?"

"Of course. They wouldn't leave out the two main men!" Apparently, this year the tributes are going to have special relationships with one another... It's going to be interesting to say the least. But we aren't allowed to say a word about it to the tributes. Before the countdown begins, when the tributes are below the arena, getting ready, Claudius and I will be announcing to Panem what is happening this year. The mentors and stylists will - hopefully - be telling their tributes. If they don't, then those kids will surely die.

"They wouldn't dare," chuckles Claudius. We sit in a comfortable silence until most of the tributes arrive. "So who are you betting on? I like the girl and boy in blue." he says, pointing to District 1. They're assumably dressed to look like diamonds. Of course, we can't "officially" bet, because we're linked with the Capitol and we could bias the viewers; but that doesn't stop Claudius and I from having our own personal gamble: the loser buys drinks for a week after the end of the Games.

I nod in agreement. "They look like a challenge. But I'm really leaning towards District 3 and 4." Those two districts are talking and laughing together. District 3 is dressed in grey and has suspenders pulling up pairs of dark grey pants. Their shirts have collars, and have a checkerboard pattern on them. They have only concealer on their faces, no makeup, to hide any blemishes, and they both have a pair of glasses on; the lenses are popped out. I usually see those glasses on teens who find it hip and stylish, but they must represent another era, because they actually make the two tributes look smart. ( images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS059-HeDaxB0LKPlCdsGeBv0j_QpZFvcGLM2q6Tm ZG0V4HuFtr cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=8346810 . /_S7ZwtPoJC5Q/S91xEbZxkjI/AAAAAAAAAGg/7TwjR244Yxk/ s400/mens_button_shirt_checker_black_ )

On the other hand, District 4 was dressed to look strong and tough. White muscle shirts, tan cargo pants, and hiking boots combine to make them look extra menacing. The fact that they have real muscle helps their cause. ( alico-summit-backpacking-hiking-boots-for-men-in-b rown~p~61270_05~1500. )

For some reason, the two districts are getting along really well, instead of arguing like most of the other tributes. I don't understand... Hopefully we'll uncover why in the interviews.

"It seems like they've already allied," Claudius notes. "I wonder why they trust each other so much already..."

D3 Female POV

Bella Swan

As soon as the stylists are done dressing us, and are through with their warnings of what not to do, they let us go to the elevator. I run there; I can't stand being away from Edward one more second. I feel like I just ran a marathon, and when I see him, I'll finally catch my breath again.

After the elevator opens on the bottom floor - I guess it's the stables - I rush out to our chariot and look around to see if Edward is there yet. He's not.

"Woah," Peeta whispers when he finally catches up to me. "slow down! I know you want to see him again. But the Capitol will realize what's going on if you don't play it cool."

"Okay," I take a deep breath. Force of habit. I go to the front of our chariot and pet the horses. I feel really stupid with this outfit on, especially because it's trying to show that we're smart. Lots of the stylists went for a more laid back style this year, which is good because we wouldn't have gotten any attention if there was a girl on fire (Sorry, I just had to!) or a boy spouting water. It seems there was a message to the stylists to tone it down, possibly because they don't want one huge show-stopper. They want to even out the playing field, is my guess.

Suddenly, there's a rush of air followed by a breathless, "Hello."

I whirl around and break into a huge grin.

It's Edward.

D3 Male POV

Peeta Mellark

So this is the famed Edward Cullen. He's pretty intimidating, although he's also a vampire. Suddenly a girl catches my eye. She's dressed like Edward, but the weirdest part about her...

She's the girl from my dream.

How could that be? What's our connection here?

D4 Male POV

Edward Cullen

The boy looks very troubled. He's staring at Katniss, which somehow makes me self conscience. He's thinking something about... seeing her in a dream he had? No way. Are we all related somehow?

Speaking of relations... I hear something about the tributes having special relationships. We're going to be connected to another tribute from a different district? These Games just keep getting weirder and weirder, and the parade hasn't even started. I pull myself away. This would just be a distraction and I'm guessing I can't tell anyone about what's going to happen. I'll just have to figure out if I could rig it so that Bella and I and Peeta and Katniss are matched up. I know that Bella and Peeta have an interesting relationship, just like Katniss and I, but there's nothing I can do about that. We're from the same district so obviously Katniss can't be paired with me, and Bella can't be paired with Peeta. For some reason that gives me a sense of relief.

I return to the real world. "Hello, my name is Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. And you are?" I manage smoothly, holding my hand out to Bella as if we were meeting for the first time.

"Isabella Marie Swan. It's nice to meet you," she smiles again.

"Hi, I'm Peeta Mellark," the boy butts in. He's holding out his hand, too.

"Edward Cullen," I say, "and this, is Katniss Everdeen." She waves rather awkwardly and comes to join us.

"So who's ready to get their Games on?" Peeta jokes.

"I didn't think it would be plural," Bella mentions.

"Oh yeah. Who's ready to get their Game on?" he laughs.

"I hope I am! But before we start... I've got a real joke." Bella say quickly. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" I respond.

"Oink oink."

"Oink oink who?"

"Wait a second, are you a pig or an owl?" For a moment, there's no reaction as we process what just happened, and then the gut-busters come. That was actually pretty good for a knock knock joke.

Suddenly I freeze. There's someone watching us. I turn around slowly, and I don't see anyones' eyes on us. I look up. Maybe there's a secret room somewhere for sponsors to watch the tributes before the parade. I sigh in relief and relax.

"Alright, are you ready to go?" asks a mentor. She's talking to Bella and Peeta. They both nod before moving to their chariots.

Seb motions for us to come to our chariot. "You can ally with them if you'd really like to," he whispers as we get in. He definitely doesn't realise how much I need to ally with them.

The District 1 chariot is spurred forward and the crowd roars. I can tell the cheering isn't as loud as usual, though, because of the blander outfits.

After District 2's cheers die down, our chariot lurches forward and Katniss grabs my hand for stability. As soon as we're out of the staging tunnel, we start to wave. There are screams for us as they notice our fingers are interlocked. I'm grinning from ear to ear, and Katniss is too when I turn and look at her. So far, so good.

We finally make it to the end of the road to the circle where the chariots stop. After a few minutes, all of the chariots arrive and President Coriolanus Snow comes out onto the balcony.

"Welcome! We salute your courage and your sacrifice and we wish you a happy Hunger Games!" he announces, and the chariots pull away again. That was oddly short. The chariots turn around in a large circle, like a roundabout, and we exit through the tunnel again.

"Magnificent!" is the first thing I hear when we're off the chariot. "That was just fabulous!" Tristy says. She's really excited. We must've been impressive to the sponsors.

"Thanks, Tristy," Katniss laughs out.

**Yeah yeah yeah, I know, another lame ending, but hopefully this is enough to hold you over until the next chapter (which is almost done, too!) is finished. Also, I now have a tumblr for this story! Follow it for updates and possibly sneak peeks(: Thanks for all your support!**

**HIYAH!**

**ONA**


	20. CH13T - Structured Training

**Hi again! My goal for over the summer is 35K+ words and 3.5K+ views, and I have 11.1K words to go and 1.2K views to go. I guess I better step it up!**

_First Day of Training:_

"In two weeks, 22 of you will be dead. Two of you will be alive. Who those are depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days, particularly to what I'm about to say." I announce. The tributes look around, confused. "First, no fighting with the other Tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the Arena. There are four compulsory exercises. The rest will be individual training. My advice is don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes. 10% from infection, 20% from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife." I continue. "My name is Atala. If you need help, come find me. If you want to spar, ask a trainer and they will battle you. Good luck." I dismiss them and they all go to their various stations. Except for one.

"Atala, will you spar with me?" an older - and good-looking - boy asks. He's definitely 18.

"Of course. Which weapon will you choose?" He shakes his head. "None? I will take a sword. Follow me to the practice arena."

For the next 10 minutes, I battle the boy with no stop. By the end, I'm almost soaking wet and his pale, perfect skin is clear. No sweat at all. He perfectly blocked every single one of my strikes, and I could hardly hold off his. I signal for a stop.

"What is your name, boy?"

"Edward Cullen. District Four."

"You will be very memorable in the arena."

"Thank you," he says, and walks away.

When I get back to the clearing in the center of the stations, the other trainers look overwhelmed with requests for help and wanting to know where I am.

I blow the whistle that hangs around my neck. "Listen up. If you have a question about a station or its material, go to that station. If you only wanted to spar with someone, I am no longer sparring. Please ask one of the station trainers to battle. Thank you."

The buzz comes back again, and so I blow my whistle again. "What is it you're all so upset about?"

The boy, Edward Cullen from 4, steps forward. "We want to know why you said 22 of us would be dead, and 2 would survive, if you don't mind my asking," he finishes politely.

"Those are questions for your mentors. Now please get back to training; it would not do to have 24 underprepared tributes this year."

D4 Male POV

Edward

Little does the Capitol know that I can read thoughts. The Gamemakers are all thinking about... some sort of connection again, where one tribute is connected to the other. I still don't understand it so I try to block them out and continue "training". I already know practically everything that could be a lesson in here.

Suddenly I remember. Bella. How could I have forgotten? I quickly locate her pretending to learn about berries, and I dash over.

"Hello," I whisper. She doesn't jump, but she turns.

"Where have you been? I missed you." she says quietly so that only I can hear.

"I've been sparring with Atala." I say.

"You know that's not what I meant. Where have you been?"

"Living. District 4. Fishing. Where have you been?" All throughout our rapid conversation, she's been matching the berries on the screen.

"Surviving. District 3. Ignoring the technology geeks that are everywhere." she laughs. She raises her voice, and asks, "Would you like to ally with me?" I nod.

"So far I'm allied with you and Katniss, then. Are you allied with the boy from your district?" She nods. "Alright. So I guess you'll meet Katniss and I'll meet the boy at lunch. Sound good?" She nods again.

"Okay, now let me try this," I say, shoving her away playfully. We go to a few more stations until I realize I want to know how Katniss is doing.

"I'm going to go see what Katniss is doing. You want to check on your boy?"

"Oh, right, okay. And his name is Peeta." I nod in recognition, and then she hugs me. It feels foreign, just like last night at the parade, but like we've been together this whole time. Apart 70 years... That was horrible. We're together now, though.

I turn to leave and find Katniss.

"Edward... wait." she says desperately. Neither of us want to separate again. "Promise me that we'll sit together at lunch."

"I, your faithful ally and companion Edward Cullen, hereby promise that we shall eat lunch together with our fellow allies." I jokingly say. She laughs and looks satisfied.

When I find Katniss, she looks worried. "Is that Bella?" she squeaks out, all that she can manage. I nod. "She's even more beautiful in person," she says, blushing. "I mean- not that I've met her. Just, you made her seem really pretty when you described her, but it's so much real in, well, real life..." she trails off. Her face is a burning shade of crimson.

"You two each have your assets," I say, chuckling.


	21. CH14 - Interviews and Something More

Just like before the parade, the four of us sit together at lunch, and the dynamic is similar. Peeta tries cracking a few jokes and mostly fails, and then (because they both know that Bella and I are vampires) we reminisce about home and our past lives. Peeta and Katniss listen intently and contribute when they can, usually adding in their own stories. It's fun, when you consider the fact that we'll be fighting for our lives in a matter of days.

The next two days go by relatively the same, and before I know it, it's the night before the Games. We're being prepped by the stylists, and Katniss looks so worried and scared, she might actually explode. As soon as the stylists are finished making us look fancy, they warn us about the "dangers of touching someone else". It's quite funny. They're worried that our outfits will be ruined if we touch another person.

Tonight what Katniss and I are wearing shocks me. It's really amazing. It's something that a couple would wear to prom, but instead of being made out of cloth, it's made entirely out of a scaly, silver material. Katniss has on a beautiful strapless dress that flows and slightly widens to mid-calf. I'm wearing a suit complete with a tie and shiny shirt. The best part is, all of it is shiny and looks like scales, and the silvery fabric reflects other colours off of the nearest objects so that we can be any colour. The advances in technology have been astounding me recently! We also have a matching tiara and crown made of water lilies, which really pulls out Katniss' eye colour.

Once we're finally lined up for the interviews, I get a good look at Bella and Peeta. They look as bright as us, so I get the feeling our stylists were in contact with one another. Bella is wearing a dress similar to Katniss', but with inch-wide straps, with the material falling to her knees, and a cinch around the middle. She's stunning. Peeta has on a dress shirt and tie, with khaki-like pants. But the most brilliant aspect of their outfits, is that it seems to be made of thousands of shards of glass. Millions, even. Every way that they turn, the light reflects off of them in unnatural and amazing ways. They look magnificent. Again, the advances in technology and crazy, because they aren't getting cut by the glass, and it moves and feels like cotton.

Suddenly the interviewer and commentator, Caesar Flickerman, walks on stage. He's slightly middle-aged, but he manages to look good in his canary yellow suit with matching hair and lips.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the 62nd annual Hunger Games Interviews! Let us begin!" he shouts to the audience, and beckons the girl from D1 forward onto the stage.

About 12 minutes later, it's time for Bella's interview. I can't wait to see how she plays this.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. You and Peeta are looking magnificent tonight!" he begins. She nods her head graciously. "So. Being from District 3, you must be good with technology?"

She twirls her hair flirtatiously. "Honestly, no," she laughs. "I've never been into that stuff. When the cable guy fixes my TV, I worship those kinds of people, but otherwise, they aren't my type."

"Oh? And what is your type?" Caesar asks, surprised.

"Most of the time, boys in general," she giggles again. "But when they go all nerd on me... I don't really understand a word they're saying. It's a shame I'm from D3; I'd probably fit in better in District 1 or 2."

"I agree! You certainly are a beautiful young woman." Caesar smiles. I growl. Keep your old hands off of my girl, thank you very much.

"Thanks," she grins. She looks like she doesn't feel comfortable with the situation. A way older guy hitting on her? I would find that weird, too.

"So, do you have any allies yet?"

"Yeah, I allied with the two cute guys from Districts 3 and 4, and my new friend Katniss." she says, grinning for real this time, and I do too until I notice Peeta smile, which quickly wipes the smirk off of my face.

"You look like a strong group of contestants this year." She nods. "Have you met the other careers yet?"

"They did approach us in training, to see if Katniss and Edward would ally with them, but we denied them. The four of us have grown close after the past few days, and not much can change that."

Some of the crowd goes "aww" and Bella takes this opportunity to shyly smile.

"Now if you don't mind me asking, how do you think you did in training?" he says curiously. "This year, the training scores will be announced after the interviews." Caesar explains to the audience.

"I think I did quite well. Even if I didn't, don't count me out. I'm more than just a pretty face." she announces seriously.

"Yes, you really are." Caesar says in the same tone. The buzzer goes off, and they both stand up. "Bella Swan, District Three, we wish you luck!" he says, grabbing her hand and holding it up triumphantly. She smiles graceously and leaves the stage.

"Next up, Peeta Mellark from District Three!"

Peeta walks on stage, looking slightly nervous but ready to pull this off.

"Hello Peeta, how've you been so far?"

"Well, this whole thing has been great so far. I'm the district's baker's son, so it was nice to see how all the different tributes compared to their district's bread." This gets a huge laugh from the audience. "I mean, look at them. The District One bread is very beautiful to look at, but doesn't have much depth, as compared to the District Three and Four's breads, which are thick and look good."

Caesar laughs with the crowd. "Seems to me like you're attached to your allies as much as Bella." Peeta nods. "So tell me then, what's your worst experience here so far?"

"The showers. I have no idea what settings to use; there's no labels! I accidentally used an apple scented, 200* setting that almost burned me alive! Tell me, do I still smell fruity to you?" The two of them go on for a while, pretending to sniff each other, talking about the perils of Capitol showers.

Finally Peeta stops. "I must say, Caesar, when I first saw you tonight, I almost thought you were a canary."

Caesar laughs. "To be honest with you, Peeta, I thought you were a broken mirror!" They both feign hurt feelings and keep verbally jabbing at each other, until suddenly Caesar pauses.

"Alright now, let's get serious. Do you have a girlfriend back home?"

Peeta hesitates, then gives an unconvincing shake of his head.

"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" says Caesar.

Peeta sighs. "Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping." Sounds of sympathy from the crowd. Unrequited love they can relate to.

"She have another fellow?" Caesar asks.

"I don't know, but a lot of boys like her," says Peeta.

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, right?" says Caesar encouragingly.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning . . . won't help in my case," Peeta says sadly.

"Why ever not?" Says Caesar, clearly mystified.

Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out, "Because . . . because . . . she came here with me."

He did not just say that!

The crowd gasps even louder.

"And there's another problem, too. For the few days that I've known Katniss Everdeen, well, she's . . . she's also captured my heart. Right now I'm torn in three directions: the Games, Bella, and Katniss."

I see some of the crowd faint. Those stupid, hopeless, horrible, terrible romantics. I might need to calm down slightly before my interview.

"Oh, Peeta. You have quite an interesting week or so before you." Peeta nods his head sadly.

Caesar says to the crowd, "Now wouldn't you like to get Bella back out here? See how she reacted to that?" The crowd screams their assent at him. "Sadly, Bella's time is spent for tonight."

They talk about home for a minute more, until the buzzer sounds.

"Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark! Our hearts go with you." They both stand up and Caesar raises Peeta's hand, as with Bella. Peeta nods and solemnly walks off the stage.

"And here is the lovely Katniss Everdeen from District Three!" Katniss walks onstage, and her thoughts are similar to mine.

_I'm going to kill Peeta for that! I can't believe he said that! But I have to be strong now. Maybe he didn't make me seem weak. Am I desirable now? I don't know. Only time will tell. Now let's get this interview over with._

She smiles as Caesar takes her hand. "And how are you doing tonight, Katniss?"

"I was doing fine before, just nervous for this I guess, but now that Peeta's dropped that bomb on me, I'm kind of shaken up to be honest. How are you?"

"I'm having a great time." he replies, then says to the audience, "Aren't you? Young love always captivates me!" The cheers are even louder now.

"Let's get down to business. Honestly, what have you liked the most about the Capitol so far?"

_Nothing. Everything is despicable to me. I especially hate the citizens here._ "I love the lamb stew," she chokes out, instead of what she was thinking. Thank god for small miracles.

"The one with the dried plums?" asks Caesar. She nods. "Oh, I eat it by the bucketful." He turns sideways to show the audience, his hand on his stomach in horror. "It doesn't show, does it?" They laugh and Caesar moves on.

"Now what were you feeling during the Reaping? Prim obviously means a lot to you." he says as gently as possible, but the words still crush the air out of her lungs.

After she breathes in, she rushes out, "She's my 12 year old sister. She means the world to me, and I don't know what she'll do - what I'll do - if I don't come home."

Caesar asks, "And what did she say to you after the Reaping?"

Katniss takes a very deep breath. "She asked me to try my hardest to come back. I promised I would win, for her." The crowd releases another "aww".

"Oh, I don't doubt you will!" He says, hands over his heart. "Shall we move on?" She nods softly. "Alright then, what are your thoughts on your alliance?"

"I think we're a serious force to be reckoned with."

"And Peeta?"

"Well . . . he's very sweet, funny, and knows how to cheer anyone up. His words are like magic, like a song that he wove together himself."

Caesar is nodding in agreement. "He's certainly got that sparkle about him! Anything to say about Edward and Bella?"

"They're probably the beautiful people of the group, but very smart at the same time. Edward is very confident and hard to doubt at any moment. Bella's personality seems quiet, but she's got a lot to say, and it's usually right. Overall, along with Peeta, I don't think I could picture better allies."

"I believe that! But truly. Do you have feelings for either of the boys?"

Right before the buzzer goes off, she quietly says, "Both."

Caesar says, "Ladies and gentlemen, Katniss Everdeen from District Four! Best wishes to you always." He raises her hand, too, and she smiles and nods once before leaving. Finally, it's my turn.

"Here is number four of one of the strongest alliances, Edward Cullen from District Four!" I smile and wave as I walk on stage. I am not handsome, I am not brilliant; I am as radiant as the stars tonight.

"Well, hello Edward! Good to see you! I have heard quite a few good things about you."

"And I've heard thousands of amazing things about you! First of all, that suit looks fabulous on you. I don't know what Peeta saw wrong with it." I say jauntily, winking at the audience. "And these seats! So lavish." I say, rubbing the cushion.

"I would have to agree with both of those statements! Honestly if I didn't have all of you to talk to, I could fall asleep right here. Such fuzzy chairs." he says, laughing. "So what's it like back home? Don't tell me you had the misfortune of your lady being reaped as well." I nod, eyes downcast. "This is terrible news! Do we have a love square on our hands?" The audience screams at him, overjoyed with the drama playing out before their eyes.

"Let me get this straight. Bella loves Edward and Peeta, Peeta loves Bella and Katniss, Katniss loves Peeta and Edward, and Edward loves Katniss! Woah!"

"Actually, Bella's been pulling me in, too, these past few days. Honestly, I love them both. They're so similar, yet so very different. It's easy to see myself with either of them in the future." I admit cautiously. This gets the audience going "aww" again. They must love doing that. "But for now, my main goal is protecting the two of them and Peeta in the arena. Peeta's become a brother to me, and I wouldn't be able to stand myself if I let any of those three get hurt. Our relationships and developing feelings are on the back burner for now, until we reach the final four."

"And I know you will make it there, my friend." he quietly replies, patting my knee. When I look him in the eyes, they're surprisingly full of raw emotion. He truly believes in my and my allies. Maybe he doesn't enjoy his job quite as much as the Capitol believes. Befriending 24 teens every year, just to watch most of them die. I make a vow then and there, that if I win, I will keep in touch with Caesar Flickerman. He sees something change in my eyes, and he grins warily.

"Do you think you did alright in the training session?"

"To be honest, I think I did magnificently. What did you think?" I say, gesturing to the balcony of Gamemakers. The majority laugh, smile, and nod, so I take that as a good sign.

"It's good to see so much confidence in a polite boy like you!" Caesar grins.

"Well, thanks," I say graciously. "You're a lot nicer in person, and back home you were famous for your kindness, if you don't mind me saying."

"I always saw myself as a celebrity as a boy," he jokes, puffing out his chest and sitting up straight, before reclining again. He's just about to ask another question when the buzzer goes off.

"That's all the time we have for Edward Cullen of District Four! Best of luck to you!"

"Thank you," I say to Caesar, "and thank you!" I say to the screaming, shouting, rolling crowd. They're all riled up now. Good for us.

**Here are their training scores!**

**Bella: 7**

**Peeta: 8**

**Katniss: 11**

**Edward: 10**

_A few hours after the Interviews:_

I dash through the dining room into the elevator. After dinner I had politely excused myself from the chit chat in the living room to escape to my bedroom. I pulled on an outfit of all black: black jeans, black turtleneck, and some comfy black tennis shoes exactly like a Nike pair I wore in America for hunting. After I was ready to go, I listened around to see if anyone was thinking about me. Just Katniss, and she was thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow. All clear. I dash through the dining room into the elevator and pressed the "G" button. Ground level. Perfect. As soon as the elevator arrives at the bottom floor, I cautiously walk out to find a sleeping Peacekeeper in the entry post. He must be drunk already. This keeps getting easier! But I can't let my guard down now.

I turn around to see a giant board; the classic "You Are Here" sign, probably meant for first-time escorts, mentors, and Peacekeepers. I can see that the research facility is only a few blocks away.

Running through the front doors of the Training Center, I quickly reorient myself and jog to the research building. Phase One is almost complete.

I've never been one for cheating or spy work. Usually I quietly play by the rules, watching and waiting for my opportunity to make sure everything works out. It went smoothly the majority of the time. When it started to take a turn for the worse, Alice and I usually intervened and stopped the situation entirely. From family feuds about football, to cocaine crime rings, we managed it all in basically the blink of an eye. But without her to watch my back... I swallow nervously, thinking about what may be waiting for me at the research facility. There's no telling. Spy work it is, then. I need to rig these Games in the hopes of saving all four of us, no matter the outcome.

After entering the building, I realize it must be closed for the day. The lobby lights are on, but the secretary is gone. I rapidly locate the security cameras and the mainframe computer at the front desk. I sprint to the computer and tap my foot impatiently as the computer boots up. It only takes a few seconds, but every second is precious.

"Please enter the passcode." speaks the feminine voice of Siri. From what Bella's told me, Apple is still going strong and they now also specialize in security and cameras. The company is based in District 3 along with other rivaling companies, but Apple is the most well-off.

I try a few random combinations before a frustrated growl escapes me. How am I supposed to do this? Let's see... What numbers would be important to Panem... If I did my math correctly, the Hunger Games started sometime in 2138. I begin typing in years, starting with 2130 just in case. The first Quell would've been 2163. The second Quell was 2188, then. I punch in both of those codes as well, and finally I realize what I forgot. The year of these Games. The year 2200.

It's been 200 years since Forks, Washington?!

I try to forget that as I type in "2200". Luckily I finally get it right, and I open the camera app. The "shut down cameras" and "delete footage" options are right at the top. I chuckle to myself; those people truly are idiots. I complete both actions, and remember to turn off all the alarm systems.

After leaving the computer desk, I jog down the first corridor until I reach a room at the end labeled "Head Gamemaker's Office". This is it, then.

_Slightly earlier that evening:_

Head Gamemaker POV

After watching the interviews, I finally decide upon the pairs. It only took me until the last second! All the pairs are perfect - for entertainment, at least. Every tribute will have some serious challenges ahead of them, if they're to survive.

I sigh in satisfaction in my work before safely tucking the list into my desk. I'm amazing. Honestly, I'm a pretty young Gamemaker, especially to be the big man. It's my 7th Games, and my 3rd as the boss. I started when I was 21, fresh out of Panem College For The Elite (the acronym was terrible!). President Snow was clearly impressed with my drive and ambition, and I understand why. I am superior to 97% of the human race as we know it. I did the calculations myself.

Yes, I am still at work. I promised myself I wouldn't leave until I had made up my mind about the pairs, even though there's sure to be a group of girls - or should I say women - waiting outside for me, but really, who cares? Oh wait, I do. It's too bad that the interviews are always so late at night. I just had to watch them to be sure I was making the right decisions. And I have.

The nation of Panem doesn't fully understand just how great this year's Games truly will be. Obviously they don't know the special twist yet - neither do the tributes - and clearly tributes can't be paired with someone from their own district. That would be pointless. And if Panem knew about the big secret before the tributes, the mentors would just tell their tributes and it would ruin everything. This is much more fun. The mentors, stylists, and escorts are only being told tonight. They should actually all know by now. I pack up my briefcase, ready to finally leave.

Time for a night out on the town with my ladies.

_The next morning:_

I stumble into my office, wearing dark sunglasses after waking up with the worst migraine ever. All the other people in this building are feeling the same, except for security personnel, who care too much about their jobs to get drunk the night before the Games.

Speaking of Games, I pull out the list again. It doesn't look the same, but then again, my face looked neon blue in the mirror this morning. I decide it's fine before calling Axel into my office.

"I need you to run this to Cornelius for me. These are the pairs. If you lose this, or so much as change one name, I will make sure the only job you have, is cleaning up pet poop," I spit at him, "and while you're at it, get me my triple macchiato already!" He scampers out of my office, clearly perplexed. I'm not usually this snippy but today is a very large exception.

**A/N: Wowza, that was a shockingly long and revealing chapter! If anyone has questions about what happened with the list of names, or anything else... just PM me or review. Believe me it all makes sense in my brain. Also, I've never been hung over, after all I'm only 14, so I'm not sure about the neon blue face thing, it just made sense to me because obviously the Capitol is so great that they made better alcohol as well as technology and more.**

**Anyways thanks for reading, I love each and every view I get, and believe me it's inspiring when I get reviews! Special thanks to Maggiemoo1113 and SpeedrReadr for being my idea bouncers (they helped a lot - SpeedrReadr honestly came up with the whole D4 interview costume!) and another special thanks to CullenFromPanem, who is so supportive of hopeful little me, that I always start writing again once they review. Their kind words always keep me going :)**

**I did keep Katniss and Peeta's training scores the same as in the books, sorry but I couldn't think of anything impressive for Bella to do, so she got a 7. You'll just have to imagine for yourselves what they did, although Katniss and Peeta's are pretty similar to the book. Katniss just didn't shoot the pig's apple ;)**

**One more thing: in case you haven't heard, there's now a tumblr for this story! Stop by my profile to get the link. (There might even be some sneak previews posted there... Shhh!) I've posted the official arena outfit there, and I'm working on the interview outfits. Hopefully those will be done soon.**

**Thanks once again, please leave a review on the way out, sorry for the long author's note (I have a lot of stuff to say!), and next chapter...**

**LET THE GAMES BEGIN!**

**ONA**


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